Brent Oil Prices Soar Above $100 as Global Tensions Escalate
Brent oil prices remain above $100 per barrel as global tensions escalate. Concerns about disrupted energy flows in the Red Sea and fears of further conflict between the US, Israel, and Iran are driving prices up.
The potential supply disruptions facing the market now are larger than at any time during the war, according to ING analysts. Not only have oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz essentially dried up, but there are clear risks to Saudi oil flows from the Red Sea.
The number of tankers crossing through the Strait of Hormuz fell to just one on Thursday, the lowest since May 7, according to ship-tracking data from Kpler. The Bab el-Mandeb shipping route controls access from the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean and is the second-most-important oil channel after the Strait of Hormuz.
The Iran-aligned Houthis declared on Monday that they were imposing a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, which had been diverting its oil via pipeline to get around Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Kazakhstan's energy ministry said oil companies temporarily cut back production after suspected Ukrainian drone attacks forced the country's main Black Sea export terminal to close.