A price increase to $90 a barrel would only take oil back to where it was last week. The price of Brent crude has declined by 12pc since hitting a peak of more than $96 at the end of September, amid signs that economies around the world were slowing.

However, a sustained rally for oil prices threatens to prolong the battle against inflation in the West.

If oil prices were to reach $95 per barrel by the end of the year, it would add 0.4 percentage points to global inflation next year, according to estimates from Capital Economics. Oil price rises typically take four weeks to flow into higher petrol pump prices.

Mr Schieldrop said oil prices could jump as high as $87 this week.

He said: “We had a very, very big sell off in late September, so the market is primed for a bullish reaction. It could be stronger just because of the big sell off that we have behind us.

“It’s a long way from this [conflict] to supply disruptions, unless suddenly this war spirals into total chaos engulfing the Middle East. That would be a big surprise and it’s not our main scenario at all.

“But you never know. It’s always, always uncomfortable when these kinds of things start happening in the Middle East.”

Stock markets across the Middle East fell on Sunday. Israel’s TA-35 index slumped by 6.4pc, its biggest loss in more than three years. Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index fell by 1.6pc.