Commodities
$100 Oil: Middle East Tensions Trigger Price Surge
Oil prices surged past $100 a barrel for the first time since July due to ongoing turmoil in the Middle East. The price of Brent Crude, the global benchmark, reached $100.19 on Wednesday morning before dipping slightly.
The current conflict in the region escalated this week after Iranian-backed Houthi forces launched strikes on several Saudi cities, drawing a key US ally into the war.
Energy infrastructure in southern Saudi Arabia was targeted, including the 400,000-barrel-a-day Jazan refinery. The US military also destroyed five Iranian tankers carrying crude following attempts to strike a US Navy warship with ballistic missiles.