Brent crude climbed above $100 per barrel on Thursday for the first time in nearly two months after Houthi attacks on Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea intensified concerns that the Middle East conflict is threatening another critical global energy shipping route.
In midday European trading, Brent crude rose 6.57 percent to $100.30 per barrel, while the US benchmark, West Texas Intermediate (WTI), gained 5.31 percent to $91.44 per barrel, extending oil’s rally to a fifth consecutive trading session.
The latest surge has lifted crude prices by nearly 20 percent since hostilities between the United States and Iran escalated two weeks ago, adding a sizeable geopolitical risk premium to the market.
The rally followed reports that the Iran-backed Houthi movement attacked two Saudi oil tankers near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, one of the world’s most strategic oil transit routes linking the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden.
According to reports, one tanker was carrying Saudi crude destined for India, while the other was transporting oil to China.
