NEW YORK — Crude prices surged Friday on mounting fears about oil supply disruption during the Middle East war, while equities retreated on poor US hiring data. The conflict, in which nearly every country in the Middle East has sustained damage from missiles or drone strikes, has left ships that carry roughly 20 million barrels of oil a day stranded in the Persian Gulf, unable to safely pass through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the gulf that is bordered on its north side by Iran. The disruption and damage to key oil and gas facilities in the Middle East have led to an interruption in the supply of oil and gas. Oil prices surpassed $90 a barrel Friday, with American crude settling at $90.90, up 36 percent from a week ago, and Brent, the international standard, climbing 27 percent over the course of the week to land at $92.69. The international benchmark oil contract, Brent North Sea crude, surged to $92.69 per barrel, up 8.5 percent for the day and nearly 30 percent for the week, after US President Donald Trump said only the “unconditional surrender” of Iran would end the Middle East war. The main US contract, West Texas Intermediate, soared more than 12 percent to over $90 per barrel, topping off the biggest weekly gain on record. Maritime traffic has all but dried up through the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s crude oil and liquefied natural gas supplies run. Market reaction to the conflict had been tempered by hopes that it would be short, but Trump’s demand for Iran’s capitulation increases the prospect of a long conflict. Trump’s comments “dashed hopes that the conflict will be averted quickly, and the oil price has continued its push” higher, said XTB Research Director Kathleen Brooks. The prospect of high energy prices for a sustained period has fanned fears of a fresh spike in inflation that could hit the global economy while curbing the ability of central banks to cut interest rates to prop up growth. “The longer that key energy infrastructure and shipping routes in the region are affected, the greater the chance of a significant inflationary impact,” said AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould. Attacks on oilfields were reported in southern Iraq and in the northern autonomous Kurdistan region, which forced a US-run oilfield to cease production. Kuwait has also begun cutting production due to a lack of storage capacity, the Wall Street Journal reported. Earlier this week, Trump pledged to protect ships through the Strait of Hormuz, but shipping companies have exercised caution in the region. Trump’s pledge helped “reduce some of the risk premium in oil markets,” but will have “limited impact unless Iran’s extensive disruption capabilities are first neutralized,” said a note from analysts at JPMorgan Chase. War’s fallout The fallout is ratcheting up what consumers and business will pay for gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, with some drivers already feeling it at the pump. “It’s crazy. It’s not needed, especially at a time when people are already struggling, but not unexpected from all this turmoil that’s going on,” said Mark Doran, who was pumping gas in Middlebury, Vermont, on Friday. “I don’t think there’s been an end in sight to any Middle East conflict that’s been started by us, so the fact that they say that there’s going to be an end that quickly is not believable, and the Middle East is, you know, a place that the US is not going to solve.” On Monday, President Donald Trump said the US expected its military operations against Iran to last four to five weeks but has “the capability to go far longer.” And on Friday, Trump appeared to rule out talks with Iran absent its “unconditional surrender.” “The more news we get, the more it seems like this is going to last a really long time,” said Al Salazar, head of macro oil and gas research at Enverus. In the US, a gallon of regular gasoline rose to $3.32 on Friday, up 11 percent from a week ago, according to AAA motor club. Diesel was selling for $4.33 a gallon Friday, up 15 percent from a week ago. The price shocks were felt even more heavily in Europe and Asia, markets that rely more heavily on energy supplies from the Middle East. Diesel prices doubled in Europe, and jet fuel prices rose by close to 200 percent in Asia, according to Claudio Galimberti, chief economist at Rystad Energy. Energy prices climbed throughout the week as Iran launched a series of retaliatory attacks, including a drone strike on the US Embassy in Saudi Arabia, and the conflict widened. Iran also hit a major refinery in Saudi Arabia and a liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility in Qatar, halting flows of refined products and taking about 20 percent of the world’s LNG supply offline. “We keep seeing news of vessels being hit or refineries or pipelines, so the list is very long,” Galimberti said. As a result, roughly 9 million barrels of oil per day are off the market because of facilities being hit or producers taking precautionary measures, he said. “Right now, with all of this shut in, we are in a situation of extreme deficit.” The US is a net exporter of oil, but that does not mean it is immune to increases in the price of oil or gasoline, or that its producers can just make up the difference. Oil is traded on global markets, so even the oil produced in the US has risen in price based on what’s happening in the Middle East. And for many American oil producers, “if you put more wells in the ground, there’s about a six-month lag before you get that production uplift,” Salazar said. In addition, the US can’t simply turn all of its crude oil into gasoline. That’s because most of the oil produced in the US is light, sweet crude, and refineries on the East and West coasts are primarily designed to process heavier, sour crude. As a result, the US exports some of its crude oil and imports some refined products such as gasoline. US job losses Meanwhile, data showed the US economy had unexpectedly lost jobs in February, while unemployment also edged up. The world’s biggest economy shed 92,000 jobs last month, down from revised job growth of 126,000 in January, said the Labor Department. New data released Friday also showed US retail sales had fallen by 0.2 percent in January. Conserving energy In the Philippines, Vice President Sara Duterte called on everyone to save energy costs amid rising fuel and commodities prices due to the war in the Middle East. “Many of us are worried. The prices of basic commodities continue to rise, and alongside the increase in fuel prices, the hardship will become even more severe. Parents are counting every peso, and many of us are anxious about what will happen next,” Duterte said in a video statement on Saturday. “I want you to know — you are not alone. We are all going through this struggle. We will all feel the weight of rising prices, especially for food. But there is still something we can do as citizens and as a community. And there is even more that the government must do,” she added. She urged local government units to prohibit non-essential activities that consume fuel, such as festival parades, as well as providing early notices to consumers and businesses regarding price hikes.