Oil surges past $100 in a first since May as Middle East conflicts rage

Oil Prices Surge Past $100 as Middle East Conflict Escalates

Oil prices have climbed above $100 a barrel for the first time in two months, as renewed conflict in the Middle East disrupts global oil supplies. The benchmark Brent crude rose sharply on Thursday, reaching its highest level since May, according to multiple reports.

Coverage Comparison

The price surge was widely reported, with Al Jazeera noting that oil prices rose for a fifth day after Yemen's Houthis said they struck Saudi Arabian oil tankers in the Red Sea. Deutsche Welle reported that the main contract, Brent North Sea crude, surpassed $95 per barrel earlier in the week, while The Guardian noted that the benchmark oil price rose sharply on Thursday after reaching $95 the day before.

Jerusalem Post reported that Brent futures finished up $6.62, or 7%, at $100.69 a barrel, the highest close since May 22. US West Texas Intermediate crude also closed up 6.2% to settle at $92.19 a barrel, the highest close since June 4.

Key Claims

• Oil prices rose above $100 a barrel for the first time since May, according to multiple sources. The price had fallen to as low as $71 at the start of July amid hopes of a ceasefire, but has climbed after the memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran fell apart, as reported by The Guardian.

• Yemen's Houthis said they attacked two Saudi Arabian oil tankers in the Red Sea, according to multiple reports. The Houthis, who control the coast at the mouth of the Red Sea, announced a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia. Al Jazeera reported that the Houthis attacked the tankers in a military operation, while The Guardian identified the vessels as the Encelia and Layla, and said the Houthis targeted them with ballistic and cruise missiles as well as drones, leaving one vessel on fire.

• The Saudi Arabian state news agency, SPA, later confirmed that one of the two vessels was ablaze after an assault while sailing in the Red Sea, according to Jerusalem Post. SPA did not say who attacked the vessel.

• The Houthis threatened to attack oil tankers calling at Saudi ports on the Red Sea, as reported by Deutsche Welle. The Red Sea has become the main alternate route for millions of barrels of Saudi oil per day, as Iran has threatened shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

• The US attacked Iran overnight for the eleventh consecutive night, according to Deutsche Welle, which also reported that the US carried out its 12th night of strikes overnight into Thursday. US President Donald Trump threatened "major military punishment" to the Houthis if they continue to attack ships, as reported by Al Jazeera and Jerusalem Post.

• The Red Sea route had become a relief valve for Saudi Arabia and the UAE to export oil via pipelines to ports outside the Gulf, according to Deutsche Welle. Around 2.5 million barrels of Saudi oil were moving through Bab el-Mandeb before the Houthi attacks, the outlet quoted Jorge Leon, senior vice president and head of geopolitical analysis at Rystad Energy, as saying. The Red Sea route allowed Saudi and the UAE to export around 6.8 million barrels of crude oil per day — about half of the usual volumes through the Strait of Hormuz.

• Iran's Revolutionary Guards have said the Strait of Hormuz is under their control and "completely closed," a claim carried by a single outlet and not yet independently verified.

• Goldman Sachs warned that oil prices could spike to $120 per barrel by the fourth quarter, a prediction that has been reported by multiple sources but remains uncertain.