Brent Oil Price Surges Above $100 as Middle East Tensions Escalate

The Brent oil price has broken above $100 per barrel for the first time since July. The price hit $100.45 per barrel in early trading on Wednesday, after two consecutive days of gains.

Tamas Varga, analyst at PVM Oil Associates, attributed the rise to oil investors expressing their views on the impact of escalating tensions in the Middle East. 'They are voting with their dollar,' he said, suggesting that unless the Strait of Hormuz re-opens and oil flows uninterruptedly, supply will not meet demand.

Earlier this week, Art Hogan, Chief Market Strategist at B. Riley Wealth, predicted that Brent crude would hit $100 in the next week if there was no resolution to reopening the Strait of Hormuz. He also noted that WTI crude was within 'shouting distance' of the century mark.