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Brent crude, the international benchmark, climbed $6.64, or 7%, to $100.71 a barrel, crossing the $100 mark for the first time since late May.
Oil prices have risen sharply on Thursday to reach the closest they have been to the $100-a-barrel mark since May. (Image courtesy: Reuters)
Oil prices jumped above $100 a barrel on Thursday for the first time since May after Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, fuelling fears of fresh disruptions to global oil supplies as the conflict in West Asia widened.
Brent crude, the international benchmark, climbed $6.64, or 7%, to $100.71 a barrel, crossing the $100 mark for the first time since late May. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose $5.18, or 6%, to $92.01, trading above $90 for the first time since June 11. Both benchmarks extended gains for a fifth straight session.
Brent has risen nearly 40% this month and has remained in technically overbought territory for nine consecutive trading days, rally came after the Houthis claimed they had struck two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea after announcing a maritime blockade targeting Saudi Arabia.
The group also said it would block the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, a key shipping route linking the Red Sea vital route for global energy supplies, remains effectively shut because of the ongoing US-Iran conflict.
Red Sea Attacks Add To Supply Risks
The latest price rally came after the Houthis claimed they had struck two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea and announced a maritime blockade targeting Saudi Arabia. The group also said it would block the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, a key shipping route linking the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.
The attacks come as the Strait of Hormuz, another vital route for global energy supplies, remains effectively shut because of the ongoing US-Iran war.
Saudi Arabia had been using the Red Sea to export millions of barrels of oil that would normally pass through Hormuz. Any disruption in the Red Sea could therefore remove even more oil from the global market.
Not the first time
The last time Brent crude — the benchmark international oil contact — broke above $100 a barrel was in March 12 during the first stage or the US-Israeli war on Iran.
The last time before that was when Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
This latest price surge has been fuelled in part by attacks on Saudi tankers in the Red Sea by pro-Iranian Houthi rebel forces in Yemen, which would expand the zone of conflict and could cut off the export of millions of barrels of oil.
In normal circumstances, the world economy consumes a little over 100 million barrels of oil daily.
In mid-July, the International Energy Agency (IEA) warned that world production was below pre-war levels by around 9.4 million barrels a day.
(With inputs from agencies)
Analysts suggest oil prices may rise further if disruptions persist. Brent crude surpassed $100 a barrel due to Houthi attacks on Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, fueling fears of supply disruptions.
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