Brent crude crossed $100 a barrel again on Thursday as Iran stepped up attacks on oil and transport facilities across the Middle East, while vowing to keep the vital Strait of Hormuz shut.
The oil grade chalked up $8.48 or 9.2 per cent to trade at $100.46 a barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude settled at $95.70, up $8.48 or 9.7 per cent.
At least six vessels in the strait were damaged in incidents across the Strait of Hormuz, where about a fifth of the world’s oil and gas supplies travel.
Commercial ships sailing under the flags of Thailand, Japan, and the Marshall Islands were targeted by unknown projectiles across the Persian Gulf’s key maritime artery.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) said it had struck a Liberian-flagged vessel in the strait that it claimed was owned by Israel.
The country has indicated it considers the ships transferring oil to the US, Israel, and “their partners” as “legitimate” targets, with its new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamene,i saying on Thursday that the Strait of Hormuz should remain closed as a tool of pressure.
Oman shifted all vessels out of its main oil export terminal at Mina Al Fahal outside the Strait of Hormuz in a precautionary move.
In Iraqi waters, Iranian explosive-laden boats reportedly attacked two fuel tankers, setting them ablaze and killing one crew member, while a Japan-flagged container ship sustained minor damage from an unknown projectile 46 kilometres northwest of Ras Al Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The war is causing the biggest oil-supply disruption in the history of global markets, the International Energy Agency said on Thursday, a day after approving the release of a record volume of 400 million barrels of oil from strategic stockpiles.
It also said that Middle East Gulf countries have cut total oil production by at least 10 million barrels per day – a volume equaling almost 10 per cent of world demand.
The energy watchdog warned that in the wake of the war, global oil supply is set to plunge by 8 million barrels per day in March, with curtailments in the Middle East partly offset by higher output from non-OPEC+ producers, Kazakhstan, and Russia. It added that the emergency stock release wouldn’t be able to offset a prolonged supply loss.
Meanwhile, the Group of Seven (G7) nations, consisting of the United States, Canada, Japan, Italy, Britain, Germany, and France, is exploring the possibility of escorting ships through the Gulf region, including the crucial Strait of Hormuz.