Stock markets in Europe have steadied after two days of punishing falls but oil prices continued to climb higher as the US-Israel war with Iran threatens to spark an energy supply crunch and experts warned over ongoing volatility.

The UK stock market opened slightly higher on Wednesday despite continuing energy price volatility over fears the US-Israel war with Iran may drag on. In London, the FTSE 100 index edged ahead alongside positive trading in Germany and France,

Oil remained within sight of multi-month ​highs on Wednesday as the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran disrupted Middle East energy flows, although prices pared ‌gains after a report that Iranian operatives sought talks with the U.

The index had been down as much as 2.5% in the morning because of worries that the war may do more sustained damage to the economy than feared.

On Tuesday, oil prices rose again and raised more alarms. The price for a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, briefly leaped above $84.

South Korea’s stock market has suffered its steepest fall in history amid the widening fallout of the United States-Israeli war on Iran. The benchmark KOSPI index plummeted 12.06 percent on Wednesday,

A sell-off for stocks is slamming into Wall Street Tuesday after wrapping around the world, as oil prices leap even higher with worries that the widening war with Iran may do more sustained damage to the economy than feared.

Oil prices leaped Monday on worries that war with Iran could clog the global flow of crude and make inflation even worse. Crude prices jumped more than 6%, which will likely mean higher prices soon at gasoline pumps.