The World Bank warns that an escalation of the latest Middle East conflict could send global commodity markets into "uncharted waters" and predicts a surge of up to 75 percent in oil prices in its worst case scenario.

The World Bank on Monday released its analysis of the potential near-term implications of the Israel-Hamas conflict for commodity markets.

It says the effects should be limited if the conflict does not widen. In its baseline forecast, oil prices are expected to average 90 dollars a barrel in the current quarter through the end of the year.

The World Bank also ran three risk scenarios to predict how oil prices would be affected by an escalation of the conflict.

In the scenario of a "medium disruption," which it says would be roughly equivalent to what happened during the Iraq war in 2003, oil prices are forecast to initially rise by 21 to 35 percent.

In the case of a "large disruption," which it says would be comparable to the Arab oil embargo of 1973, the bank expects prices to increase by up to 75 percent to 157 dollars a barrel.

A World Bank economist warned that higher oil prices would inevitably lead to higher food prices. The economist said more than 700 million people worldwide were undernourished at the end of 2022, and that an escalation of the conflict could intensify food insecurity across the globe.