Iran-US Shipping Conflict Sends Oil Prices Soaring Above $100

The US and Iran have launched their biggest wave of attacks on shipping since the six-month-old war began, heightening concerns over global energy supplies.

Iran claimed to have attacked 10 ships near the Strait of Hormuz after the US sank five Iranian oil tankers, sending benchmark Brent crude futures above $100 a barrel for the first time since July.

The attacks resulted in at least one seafarer being killed and another reported missing. The UK Maritime Trade Operations agency reported that several merchant vessels were struck by disabling fire in the northern Gulf and Gulf of Oman.

Claudio Galimberti, chief economist at Rystad Energy, said oil flows through the strait had fallen to as little as two million barrels per day from between eight million and nine million barrels per day before fighting resumed on August 30.