PARIS, France: Brent crude rose above USD 100 a barrel on Thursday for the first time since May as Middle East fighting and threats to Red Sea shipping intensified.
The international oil benchmark last exceeded USD 100 on March 12 during the early phase of the US-Israeli war with Iran, according to the source report.
The latest increase followed attacks by Yemen’s Houthi forces on Saudi tankers in the Red Sea. Saudi Arabia has relied more heavily on the route since the Strait of Hormuz closed to oil exports.
The International Energy Agency said in mid-July that global oil production remained about 9.4 million barrels per day below pre-war levels.
Oxford Economics economist Maya Senussi said attacks and shipping restrictions could make Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea export route less viable in the near term.
Oxford Economics estimated that oil prices could eventually exceed USD 160 a barrel if both the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz became effectively closed to traffic.
Rystad Energy Vice President Janiv Shah said spare production capacity had already declined, while strategic and commercial inventories remained below levels recorded at the start of the war.
The International Energy Agency said about 30 member countries still held more than one billion barrels in emergency reserves. Commodity analytics firm Kpler separately estimated that a record 1.35 billion barrels of oil were already at sea earlier this month.
Read: Oil Prices Rise as Iran War Threatens Supply Routes
European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said the Red Sea disruption was already affecting Brent prices. She warned that higher energy costs could add to inflation and influence interest-rate decisions.
