Once again, the ancient entanglement of geopolitics and energy has reasserted itself, as fighting in the Middle East pushed oil past $100 a barrel — a threshold that carries as much psychological weight as economic consequence. Brent crude climbed to $118.22 and WTI to $118.21 on Monday, each rising roughly 27 to 30 percent in a single bound, as markets absorbed the possibility that the region's infrastructure and shipping corridors could be compromised. Producers in Iraq, Kuwait, and Qatar have already begun pulling back, and the world watches Saudi Arabia and the UAE, knowing that when stora