South Korea's aviation industry is on alert as rising oil prices and a weakening Korean won threaten airline profitability after Iran crisis

Oil prices settled unchanged on Wednesday at the end of a volatile trading session, as escalating U.S. and ​Israeli strikes against Iran widened regional tensions and paralysed shipping through the Strait of Hormuz for a fifth day,

Brent crude and WTI futures fell back from highs early Wednesday on hopes that the U.S., Iran conflict won’t develop into a prolonged war.

The price of crude oil rose to $80 a barrel and the price of natural gas jumped 30% after Iran effectively sealed off the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

The Strait of Hormuz, a waterway that runs alongside Iran and through which roughly 20 percent of the world's oil supply runs through has been blocked.

Shipping through the Strait between Iran and Oman, which carries around one-fifth of oil consumed globally as well as large quantities of liquefied natural gas, has ground to a near halt after vessels in the area were hit as Iran retaliated against U.

Iran has declared the Strait of Hormuz closed and threatened to set fire to any ships that try to pass through as the widening war in Iran grinds tanker traffic through the crucial waterway to a halt.