Crude oil tops $94 barrel, hits three-month high on Gulf tensions
Crude rose above $94 a barrel to three-month highs after Iran said it struck two American vessels and eight oil tankers in the Gulf, warning Persian Gulf shipping to abandon vessels.
Crude oil climbed above $94 a barrel on Wednesday to three-month highs 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 strikes followed US attacks on five Iranian tankers near Kharg Island, the Islamic Republic’s main oil export hub. Elsewhere, Iran-backed Houthi militants targeted energy infrastructure in southern Saudi Arabia, including the 400,000-barrel-a-day Jazan refinery.
Stronger Chinese oil demand is also supporting prices for African, Canadian and Latin American crude as disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz prompt refiners to seek supplies from more distant markets.