Why oil prices have avoided worst-case surge as Iran war enters sixth month

It could be much worse.

When President Donald Trump launched his war against Iran in late February, energy analysts issued dire warnings that oil prices could more than double during a protracted conflict and urged investors and motorists to buckle up for a bumpy ride.

The war grinds on and oil prices certainly remain volatile.

But the most dire projections have not yet come to pass six months into a conflict that has no end in sight.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is making a much-anticipated state visit to Washington next week, could make a credible argument that the world has his country's energy strategy to thank for that.

It's unclear how much the two leaders will discuss Iran during the visit, which comes as Trump's Republican Party faces pressure from voters over high gasoline prices, and as China's buffer is being further tested as the conflict in the Middle East spreads.

Trump, who has sought to keep a fragile trade truce with Beijing intact, has been careful in public