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Investors are worried over how long the war with Iran could last, how high inflation may go because of more expensive oil and how much damage that might do to corporate profits.

Airlines and other large fuel buyers have been loading up on oil derivatives contracts in recent days to keep their bills from spiraling as the U.S.-Iran war pushes prices to multiyear highs.

With ships unable or unwilling to transit the Strait of Hormuz, producers cannot export, supertanker costs are skyrocketing and storage at many Persian Gulf refineries is filling up fast. 

President Donald Trump said the U.S. would provide insurance guarantees and naval escorts to ensure safe passage for oil tankers and other vessels through the Strait of Hormuz.

“Spain has absolutely nothing that we need other than great people,” President Trump said. “They have great people, but they don’t have great leadership.”

A decision to tap the Energy Department’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve could help stanch price spikes, at least temporarily. The reserve currently holds about 415 million barrels.

Shipowners and brokers are demanding more than $200,000 a day for LNG tankers in the Atlantic Basin, roughly double what they were commanding less than a day earlier, according to sources.

“It’s the rockets and feathers effect,” said Christopher Knittel, professor of energy economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “When things are going up — they go up fast.”

Soy rose to its highest level in more than two years after strikes by the U.S. and Israel on Iran. Contracts in Chicago surged as much as 3.9% before paring some gains.

The most immediate impact from the escalating Middle East conflict is through market reaction as investors take flight to safe havens such as the dollar and gold, while stocks slump.