The price of Brent crude oil, the international standard, is back above $100 U.S. as fighting between the U.S. and Iran intensifies.
The price of Brent crude jumped 6% to cross $100 U.S. per barrel on reports that Iran-backed Houthi militants struck oil tankers in the Red Sea near Saudi Arabia.
The involvement of Houthi militants and attacks on oil tankers in the Red Sea opens a new front in the escalating war with Iran.
The Strait of Hormuz shipping corridor near Iran is already closed due to the ongoing war, and the potential for oil shipments to also be disrupted in the Red Sea has crude prices spiking.
This is the first time that Brent crude oil’s price has been above $100 U.S. per barrel since May 26 of this year.
Brent crude oil has now risen 35% in the past month, one of its biggest monthly increases ever.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil, the U.S. benchmark, is up 5% and trading at $91 U.S. a barrel on July 23.
The rising oil prices come after Yemen’s Houthis say they attacked two Saudi Arabian oil tankers with drones and missiles for allegedly violating their “maritime blockade.”
The Houthi strike comes after the Trump administration said it would destroy an Iranian bridge or power plant each time Tehran attacks an oil ship, signaling a further escalation in the war.
