Oil Prices Surge Past $100 Amid Middle East Tensions
Global benchmark Brent crude reached its highest level since May as renewed conflict fears impact energy supplies.
Oil prices surpassed $100 a barrel for the first time since May, driven by escalating conflict in the Middle East and renewed concerns about global energy supplies. The price of Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil, rose more than 5% on Thursday following several days of increases.
The surge followed attacks by Houthi militia on oil tankers in the Red Sea, a critical export route for Saudi Arabia that offers an alternative to the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps reported that three tankers had abandoned an attempt to transit the Hormuz after an explosion aboard one of them caused a fire.
This development comes as a temporary ceasefire between the United States and Iran has faltered. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated this week that Iranian leadership was "not ready to make a deal."
Gas prices have also seen a steady increase over the past month, with the benchmark UK gas price currently around 150 pence per therm, up from approximately 98 pence per therm on June 26.