Brent crude rose to its highest level since May on Thursday after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said seven vessels had been hit or damaged near the Strait of Hormuz, as Yemen’s Houthis kept up attacks on Saudi Arabia.
Brent futures climbed $3.19, or 2.9%, to $112.01 a barrel by 1311 GMT, Reuters reported. They touched $112.68 earlier in the session, the highest since May 18.
US West Texas Intermediate crude gained $2.41, or 2.5%, to $99.56 a barrel after reaching $100.09 earlier in the day.
By 9:15 a.m. in New York (5:15 p.m. in the UAE), Brent was up 3.3% at $112.37, CNBC reported.
The IRGC navy said four vessels involved in what it called illegal oil transfers in the northern Gulf were hit at the same time and caught fire after being tracked by its forces on Wednesday.
It said three more vessels caught fire and were forced to stop after striking naval mines west of the strait. The statement was carried by Iranian state media.
The Associated Press said it could not independently confirm the claims. If verified, the incidents would be the largest number of vessels damaged in the waterway in a single day since the war began on February 28, the news agency said.
The IRGC warned that continued US efforts to guide commercial ships through the strait could lead to strikes on US bases in the region.
The Houthis said on Thursday they had launched attacks on Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Defense in Riyadh, Saudi Aramco facilities in Yanbu and King Fahd International Airport in Dammam. The Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted drones over Riyadh and Medina.
Two people were killed and eight injured in Wednesday’s attack on the Dammam airport, according to Saudi state media. Aramco has told staff to evacuate its Dhahran headquarters and work remotely, Reuters reported on Thursday.
“Reports of Middle East crude oil exports exceeding pre-conflict levels are more than countered by attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz and the Houthi strikes on Saudi Arabia and on its oil infrastructure,” said Tamas Varga, an analyst at PVM Oil Associates.
“No de-escalation is anticipated until the US midterm elections, which should keep oil prices elevated,” Varga added.
Morgan Stanley analysts estimated in a note that Middle East crude exports were around 17 million barrels per day last week, according to Reuters.
US President Donald Trump said late on Wednesday that the United States was not negotiating with Iran and that “something one way or the other” would “happen fairly soon.”
