Asian Buyers Scoop Up U.S. Oil as Middle East Tensions Rise

Asian buyers purchased 11 million barrels of U.S. oil in mid-July as U.S.-Iran tensions worsened, Bloomberg reports. About a fifth of all the world's oil passes through a narrow waterway between Iran and Oman. Refiners are stocking up on oil from elsewhere before that route becomes too risky or costly to insure. Oil prices have jumped from the low-$70s to above $90.