Oil surged over 7% past $100 threshold as Houthi tanker strikes and Hormuz blockade trigger acute supply crisis

Global crude benchmarks surged over 7% on Thursday to breach the $100-a-barrel threshold for the first time since May, driven by escalating maritime blockades and direct strikes on Saudi crude logistics.

The international Brent contract spiked $6.62 (7.04%) to settle at $100.69 a barrel, marking its highest close since May 22, while US WTI climbed $5.36 (6.18%) to finish at $92.19, its highest settlement since June 4.

Pricing momentum accelerated after Houthi forces targeted two Saudi Arabian oil tankers in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, setting one vessel ablaze and placing Saudi Arabia's Red Sea crude bypass route under immediate operational threat.

Supply anxieties were further compounded by near-total gridlock in the Strait of Hormuz following warnings from Tehran's Revolutionary Guards that southern transit routes are actively mined, driving Persian Gulf crude loadings down to 2.5 million barrels per day from a 30-day average of 6 million bpd.

Written by: Aiman Haikal