Oil surges past $100 as fresh Gulf attacks rattle global markets

International

TRIPLE-figure oil is back.

Prices have breached $100 a barrel for the first time since July as a fresh wave of attacks rattles the Gulf.

Brent crude, the global benchmark, reached $100.70 a barrel on Wednesday afternoon, up 2.83% from Tuesday, as clashes involving the US, Iran and Yemen’s Houthis heightened concerns over energy supplies and shipping routes.

Oil was trading at about $70 (£52) a barrel before the US and Israel’s war with Iran began in February. The latest escalation has also disrupted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway normally carrying about 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments.

The US military’s Central Command (Centcom) said it had destroyed five Iranian oil tankers - Kaviz, Charminar, Horizon 1 and Riesco in the Gulf of Oman, and Derya near Kharg Island, Iran’s main oil-export terminal.

Centcom said the vessels were linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) and their crews were ordered to abandon ship before the strikes.

The US said the operation followed two IRGC ballistic-missile attacks on a US warship, which “successfully evaded” the missiles. No American troops were harmed, it said.

Iran said it retaliated with missile strikes on US facilities at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan. Jordan said it intercepted 20 missiles, with two others landing in unpopulated areas and no casualties reported.

The IRGC also claimed its navy attacked two US destroyers and eight oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, but Centcom rejected the claim.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington would continue responding to attacks on its forces.

“Iran continues to try to hit US naval ships. And, for every time they do that or try to do that, they’re going to lose tankers. And I think you’ll see that again today,” Rubio told reporters during a trip to Colombia, as quoted by the BBC.

Iran’s IRGC said it would soon announce coordinates for a new “prohibited zone” extending into the Sea of Oman and Arabian Sea. The UK’s maritime agency separately reported several merchant vessels had come under “disabling fire” amid ongoing military activity.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia and the Houthis have exchanged further attacks. Saudi authorities said Houthi drones and missiles injured 73 civilians and caused fires at oil facilities, while the Houthis reported more than 50 Saudi air strikes in areas they control.

More than 500 people have reportedly been killed in the latest fighting in Yemen and almost 20,000 displaced, adding to concerns over the wider impact on regional energy markets.(MyTVCebu)