Brent crude oil prices rose to their highest level since May on Thursday after Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi group carried out more attacks in Saudi Arabia. The attacks raised fears that the conflict in the Middle East could spread further and disrupt oil supplies from one of the world’s most important oil-exporting regions.
It warned the US military that continued provocations could lead to a wider response against American military bases in the region, Reuters reported. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures also moved higher. The US administration is also taking steps to address rising fuel prices. Higher fuel costs have added to pressure on governments and energy markets as supply concerns continue.
Brent crude futures rose by $3.35, or 3.08%, to $112.17 a barrel by 0818 GMT on Thursday. This was the highest level since May 18. Brent prices had touched $112.55 a barrel earlier in the trading session. WTI crude rose by $2.68, or 2.76%, to $99.83 a barrel, according to Reuters. The Trump administration is offering to loan out nearly one-third of the country’s 1-million-barrel emergency heating oil reserve as it seeks to contain prices that have surged amid diesel shortages.
Oil market analysts said efforts to reduce tensions in Ukraine and the Middle East were not convincing enough to calm the markets. Attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz and Houthi strikes on Saudi Arabia and its oil infrastructure were raising concerns about oil supplies, despite reports that Middle Eastern crude exports had recovered to levels above those seen before the conflict, PVM Oil analyst Tamas Varga said. Varga also said he did not expect the conflicts to ease before the US midterm elections. He said this could keep oil prices high in the coming weeks, according to Reuters. The IRGC Navy also said three other vessels had collided with mines west of the Strait of Hormuz. The diesel shortages have been linked to the US-Israeli war with Iran and the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, according to Reuters.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy said on Thursday that its forces had tracked four vessels involved in what it described as illegal oil transfers in the northern Gulf. The navy said all four vessels were hit simultaneously and caught fire on Wednesday.
The Kremlin said Putin had agreed to resume US-mediated peace talks with Ukraine as soon as next month. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy also expressed support for the talks and said he hoped they would begin as soon as possible, according to Reuters.
