Oil price passes $100 a barrel again as Middle East conflict escalates | Oil
Oil prices rose above $100 a barrel for the first time in two months as a new escalation of conflict in the Middle East threatens to further exacerbate the disruption to global oil supplies.
The benchmark oil price rose sharply on Thursday after reaching $95 a barrel the previous day, amid fears that Yemen’s Houthi militias could stifle Saudi oil exports through the Red Sea and intensify US-Iran tensions over oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz.
Pro-Iran Houthis said Thursday they attacked two Saudi Arabian oil tankers, the Encelia and Layla, accusing the crew of violating a naval blockade imposed by the group in the Red Sea.
The Houthis said they targeted the tankers with numerous ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as unmanned aerial vehicles, and set one of the ships on fire.
Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil prices, surpassed $100 per barrel in March after the United States and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran, almost completely halting fossil fuel exports from the Gulf via the Strait of Hormuz.
The price of oil rose as high as $126 per barrel in April during the conflict, but fell below $100 by the end of May and fell to $71 in early July in hopes of a ceasefire in the region.
The price began to rise again after the memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran broke down and new hostilities broke out in the Gulf..
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