Middle East Tensions Send Oil Prices Soaring Above $100

Oil prices surged above $100 per barrel after attacks in the Middle East disrupted shipping and raised fears of tighter global energy supplies.

The price of Brent crude, the international standard, rose to $100.29 early Wednesday, up 2.4% from the previous day.

The increase was triggered by a series of attacks on oil facilities and ships in Saudi Arabia, which have threatened to debilitate an already weakened supply chain.

Markets reacted after the U.S. military reported striking five Iranian tankers in response to attempted missile attacks on a Navy warship.

The fighting has halted most shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway through which a fifth of the world's oil supply passed before the war began.