Global oil prices climbed above $100 a barrel for the first time in nearly two months on Thursday (23 July) after Yemen's Houthi movement said it had attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, raising fresh concerns about global energy supplies.
Brent crude rose 7% to $100.66 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) gained 6.3% to $92.28, extending a five-day rally driven by escalating tensions in the Middle East.
The Houthis said they had targeted two Saudi oil tankers as part of what they described as a naval blockade of Saudi shipping through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
Saudi state media later confirmed that one of the tankers had caught fire while sailing in the Red Sea but did not identify those responsible.
The latest attack adds to disruptions caused by the near-halt in commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, intensifying fears over the security of global oil supplies.
Despite the attack, shipping data showed that two Chinese supertankers carrying a combined 4 million barrels of Saudi crude successfully transited the Bab el-Mandeb Strait on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs said Brent crude could rise above $120 a barrel later this year if disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz continue through 2027, with further gains possible if traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Suez Canal is also affected.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said the Strait of Hormuz remained under Iranian control and warned that no tanker would be allowed to transit without coordination while U.S. military operations continue in the region.
According to UBS, non-Iranian tanker traffic through the strait has declined sharply, while Iranian crude exports have effectively fallen to zero following the reimposition of a U.S. naval blockade.
Analysts estimate that crude loading activity in the Gulf has fallen to around 2.5 million barrels per day over the past week, compared with an average of 6 million barrels per day during the previous month.
OPEC+ members are still expected to consider another production increase when they meet on 2 August, despite growing regional instability.
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Iran and the United States remain at loggerheads over efforts to agree a permanent end to the war in the Gulf, according to a senior Iranian source who said there had been no progress in talks to revive the interim deal agreed in June and define a timeframe to implement it.
U.S. President Donald Trump has called for Iran to pay compensation for decades of deaths and damage, adding a new demand to peace talks as Tehran seeks compensation and sanctions relief before reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
Disruption in the Strait of Hormuz has increased the strategic importance of Bab al-Mandab, raising fears that instability in both waterways could trigger a wider global energy and trade crisis.
A criminal court in Damascus has sentenced former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia for premeditated murder, torture, arbitrary detention and crimes against humanity, according to Syria’s state news agency SANA.
Millions of people across Spain and Iceland are preparing on Wednesday to witness a rare total solar eclipse, when the moon will pass directly between Earth and the Sun, briefly turning daylight into darkness along a narrow path.
Iran and the United States remain at loggerheads over efforts to agree a permanent end to the war in the Gulf, according to a senior Iranian source who said there had been no progress in talks to revive the interim deal agreed in June and define a timeframe to implement it.
Iran said it was nearing a final pact with Oman defining new shipping lanes between them through the Strait of Hormuz but repeated that the U.S. must meet other conditions.
A deal on a new route for vessels through the Strait of Hormuz is "very close," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said, while warning that the reopening of the waterway depends on the U.S. meeting other conditions, including paying compensation to Iran.
An agreement between Iran and the U.S. to reopen the Strait of Hormuz is expected "soon," a U.S. official has said. The deal would result in the resumption of commercial shipping through the sea passage and the lifting of an American naval blockade on Iranian ports.
U.S. President Donald Trump said negotiations to reopen the Strait of Hormuz are progressing and suggested an agreement with Iran could be reached “soon”.
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