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Oil prices rose for a fifth day on Thursday on increasing concerns about supply availability amid attacks on tankers in the Red Sea by Yemen’s Houthis and strikes between the US and Iran that have once again nearly shut the Strait of Hormuz.Brent crude futures rose $2.42, or 2.6 percent, to $96.49 by 0640 GMT, the highest since June 8, having settled up more than $3 at $94.07 in the previous session, just shy of a six-week high. US West Texas Intermediate crude climbed $1.59, or 1.8 percent, to $88.42, after Wednesday’s rise of 3 percent.Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said an oil tanker caught fire after an explosion while attempting to follow a route they described as mined, in the southern area of the Strait of Hormuz near the coast of Oman, while two others had turned back.In a statement the Guards said the strait was under their control and “completely closed” while US actions continued in the region, warning that no tanker would be allowed to enter or leave without coordination with Iran.
Fears of supply shortages through Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb drove crude prices to six-week highs
