Brent oil hits $110 as Iran escalates Middle East attacks

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 17 Oct, 00:20 · Archive

Brent crude oil rose to $110 per barrel as Iran and allied Houthi militants escalated attacks on shipping and Saudi targets.

Brent futures hit $110 per barrel on Friday before settling at $109.86, up 3.7%, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate rose 3.5% to $101.41. The price surge followed escalating attacks in the region: at least nine tankers and cargo ships came under attack in the Strait of Hormuz since Sunday, and Iran sank the Singapore-registered container ship GFS Pride on Wednesday with its crew safely evacuated. The attacks have injured three seafarers and left two missing this week.

Houthi militants, allied with Iran, fired multiple missiles at Saudi Arabia on Friday. Saudi Arabia's military intercepted several missiles heading toward the oil export terminal Yanbu and destroyed three drones in Riyadh and southern regions. Aramco, the Saudi oil giant, saw one of its administrative buildings in Dhahran struck on Tuesday. Crude oil exports through Hormuz have declined since the attacks began, standing at 9.4 million barrels per day for the week ended Wednesday, about 70% of pre-war levels.

How it is being reported

• Ukraine’s strikes on Russian oil refineries is not impacting US gas prices: reportPrices in the US started rising steeply this February, coinciding with the start of the Iran war, and reached a whopping high of $6.53 per gallon on Sept. 21, according to the data.New York Post · 17 Oct, 01:48
• Brent oil touches $110 as Iran escalates Hormuz attacks, Ukraine vows to hit Russian refineriesU.S. crude oil prices rose sharply Friday as Iran escalated attacks in the Strait of Hormuz this week.CNBC · 16 Oct, 21:02

In this story: Iran · Saudi Arabia · Strait of Hormuz · Houthi · Aramco · Yemen

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem