Brent crude climbed above $99 a barrel on Wednesday, its highest level in nearly seven weeks, edging toward the pivotal $100 mark after Iran claimed it had struck two US naval vessels and eight oil tankers in the Gulf. The escalation intensified fears of further disruptions to global oil supplies. Tehran also fired ballistic missiles toward Jordan and issued warnings to ships in the Persian Gulf, urging tanker crews near Kuwaiti and Bahraini ports to “immediately abandon their vessels.”
The latest attacks came in the wake of US strikes on five Iranian tankers near Kharg Island, the Islamic Republic’s main oil export hub. At the same time, Iran-backed Houthi militants hit energy infrastructure in southern Saudi Arabia, including the 400,000-barrel-a-day Jazan refinery.
Stronger Chinese demand for crude is also supporting prices for African, Canadian and Latin American grades, as disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz prompt refiners to secure alternative supplies from more distant sources.
