Brent crude surged past $100 a barrel on Thursday, climbing to $101 for the first time in two months, after Houthi militants attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea and compounded a deepening supply crisis.
Prices have rallied roughly 42 percent since the start of July as the Strait of Hormuz has remained closed since late February and the Houthis declared a naval blockade at the Bab el-Mandeb strait, severing Saudi Arabia's Red Sea export alternative. Kazakhstan also suspended oil flows through the Caspian Pipeline Consortium following drone strikes on its infrastructure. The US carried out a twelfth consecutive night of air strikes on Iran, while fading prospects for renewed talks between Washington and Tehran have fuelled fears of a prolonged conflict.
Saudi Arabia has ramped exports from Yanbu to roughly 4 million barrels per day to bypass Hormuz, though the Red Sea attacks now threaten that route. US gasoline prices have reached $4.09 a gallon.