Photo caption: Oil pump jack
*WTI surpasses $90/bbl for the first time since June 11
*Houthis say they attacked Saudi tankers in the Red Sea
*Two Chinese supertankers with Saudi oil head to Bab el-Mandeb for Red Sea exit
*U.S. completes 12th straight night of attacks on Iran
Oil prices hit their highest in more than a month on Thursday, rising for a fifth day after Yemen’s Houthis said they struck two Saudi oil tankers, raising fears that disruption to global oil supplies could spread beyond the Strait of Hormuz.
Reuters reported that Brent crude futures were up $4.52, or 4.80%, at $98.59 a barrel by 0935 GMT having reached their highest since June 3.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude climbed $3.39, or 3.90%, at $90.22, after reaching its highest since June 11.
“The immediate outlook for crude oil remains supportive as markets price a worrying probability of supply interruptions in a second chokepoint,” said Pepperstone research strategist Ahmad Assiri.
Besides the renewed conflict over control of the Strait of Hormuz, Yemen’s Houthis have opened a new front by targeting vessels carrying Saudi oil in the Bab el-Mandeb strait and trying to impose a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia.
The Iranian-aligned Houthis said on Thursday they struck two Saudi oil tankers as part of a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia.
Two Chinese supertankers carrying a combined 4 million barrels of Saudi Arabian oil are exiting the Red Sea via the Bab el-Mandeb strait on Thursday, shipping data showed, even as a Saudi vessel came under attack in the region.
Goldman Sachs said that oil flows through the Bab el-Mandeb strait have averaged nearly 9 million barrels per day over the past month, including nearly 4 million bpd that might be difficult to reroute with the blocking of multiple chokepoints in the region.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said an oil tanker caught fire after an explosion while attempting to follow a mined route in the southern area of the Strait of Hormuz near the coast of Oman and that two others had turned back.
The Guards said the strait was under their control and “completely closed” while U.S. actions continued in the region, warning that no tanker would be allowed to enter or leave without coordination with Iran.
The U.S. military said it had completed a 12th consecutive night of attacks on Iran, hours after U.S. President Donald Trump vowed to destroy an Iranian bridge or power plant every time Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz.
Goldman expects oil prices to retain most of their recent gains through July and August as global inventories continue to decline, supported by lower Middle East production, seasonal summer travel demand and a sharp slowdown in releases of strategic petroleum reserves.
Meanwhile, European diesel margins hit a record $66.25 a barrel on July 17, supported by Russia’s diesel export ban following repeated Ukrainian attacks on its refineries and concerns over further disruptions to Middle East supplies, and traded as high as $65.30 a barrel on Thursday.
