Oil prices surged on Thursday, with Brent crude climbing above $107 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate crossing $101, as escalating attacks on tankers and energy infrastructure deepened concerns over a prolonged disruption to global supplies.
Brent crude rose to $107.31 per barrel, extending a rally that has pushed the international benchmark more than 30 percent above its lows in early August.
WTI also moved above the $100 mark, reaching about $101.86 per barrel, as the market reacted to the sharpest escalation in attacks on shipping since the US-Iran war began.
The latest surge marks a dramatic return to triple-digit oil prices after a period of relative calm that had briefly pulled Brent towards the $70 range in early July.
Brent had previously reached a wartime peak of $126.41 per barrel in April before falling as Washington and Tehran temporarily halted attacks and raised hopes of a more lasting agreement. Those hopes have since faded.
Renewed fighting has brought the risk of supply disruption back to the centre of the oil market.
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Iran said it attacked 10 ships near the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, while the US struck five Iranian oil tankers, escalating attacks on commercial and energy-related assets in one of the world’s most important oil-producing regions.
Tanker traffic through Hormuz, which before the conflict handled about one-fifth of global oil and gas supplies, has remained heavily restricted. Recent flows have fallen below 2 million barrels per day, compared with roughly 8 million to 9 million barrels per day during a brief improvement in traffic before fighting resumed.
The threat has also expanded beyond the Persian Gulf.
Iran-aligned Houthi forces have intensified attacks in Yemen and Saudi Arabia, threatening energy facilities and shipping routes through the Red Sea.
The group seized control of Yemen’s port of Mocha on Thursday, adding another layer of risk around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a critical route linking the Red Sea with the Indian Ocean.
Earlier attacks on Saudi energy infrastructure, including facilities around Jizan, had already raised concerns that the conflict could threaten not only crude shipments through Hormuz but also alternative export routes that Gulf producers have increasingly relied upon since the war disrupted shipping.
Simon-Peter Massabni, head of business development at XS.com, said the expansion of attacks had widened the market’s concerns.
“The threat is no longer confined to a single choke point,” he said, warning that disruptions could spread across “regional export routes, oil production sites and other energy infrastructure.”
The latest rally also comes as physical oil supplies have tightened.
OPEC’s crude production fell by 640,000 barrels per day in August to 19.71 million bpd, according to a Reuters survey, as disruptions to Saudi exports and restrictions on Iranian shipments offset planned production increases by other members.
OPEC itself has meanwhile cut its forecast for global oil demand growth for 2026 for a fifth consecutive month, projecting growth of 380,000 barrels per day.
However, the market’s immediate focus has shifted from weaker demand expectations to whether available supplies can physically reach consumers amid attacks on tankers, ports and energy infrastructure.
The rally is also reviving fears of another global inflation shock.
Prices of refined fuels, particularly diesel, had already tightened significantly during the conflict as refinery disruptions in the Middle East and Russia reduced product availability.
Brent’s return above $100 now threatens to raise transport, manufacturing and food costs across importing countries.
