Crude oil prices spiked by over $6 per barrel — their highest level in slightly over a year — in initial trading on Sunday. Why it matters: The surge from the Asia markets' opening is the first major evidence of how markets are digesting the potential for supply disruptions from the strikes against Iran. It will push up U.S. gasoline prices, though the impact will depend on the evolving market response as well as the scope and duration of the conflict. Driving the news: The global benchmark Brent crude was trading at $79.20 per barrel — up over 8% from Friday's close. "The risk of escalation is greater than seen in recent regional conflicts," said Jason Bordoff, founding director of Columbia's Center on Global Energy Policy, in an essay before markets opened. Markets "will be pricing not just barrels lost," but the probabilities of possible events around an escalation, he said. My thought bubble: The early increase — substantial, but short of some predictions — signals that traders don't see anything approaching a worst-case scenario that curtails supplies on a broad scale.