Brent crude nears $100 as Mideast shipping tensions escalate
Brent crude rose above $99 a barrel to its highest level in nearly seven weeks, nearing the $100 threshold amid Iran attacks on US vessels and oil tankers in the Gulf. Additional regional strikes add supply disruption risk.
Brent crude climbed above $99 a barrel on Wednesday, touching its highest level in nearly seven weeks and moving closer to the $100 mark after Iran said it struck two American vessels and eight oil tankers in the Gulf. Tehran also fired ballistic missiles toward Jordan and warned vessels in the Persian Gulf, telling tanker crews near Kuwaiti and Bahraini ports to immediately abandon their vessels. The attacks followed US strikes on five Iranian tankers near Kharg Island, the Islamic Republic’s main oil export hub. Iran-backed Houthi militants also targeted energy infrastructure in southern Saudi Arabia, including the 400,000-barrel-a-day Jazan refinery.
Stronger Chinese oil demand is also lifting prices for African, Canadian and Latin American crude as disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz push refiners to look for alternative supplies from farther away markets.