Oil Tops $100 as Iran Strikes Disrupt Shipping — SkimNews
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- Oil benchmarks climbed Friday with Brent up $1.05 (1%) to $108.68/barrel and WTI up 95 cents (1%) to $103.45/barrel, after both surged over 6% on Thursday and were on track for a nearly 13% weekly gain — the steepest since the week ended July 17.
- Iran-aligned Houthis seized Yemen's port of Mocha on Thursday, adding a new threat to Red Sea traffic, while shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remained restricted as tanker attacks intensified.
- Yemen-based strikes on Saudi energy facilities escalated the conflict beyond Iran and the Strait of Hormuz, with analysts warning the widening theater points to prolonged regional supply disruptions.
- Iran said it struck 10 ships near the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday in retaliation for the U.S. hitting five Iranian oil tankers; the IRGC vowed to escalate its response to any further attacks.
- U.S. diesel crossed $6/gallon for the first time ever on Thursday per GasBuddy, squeezed by the U.S.-Iran war and Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries.
- OPEC cut its 2026 world oil demand growth forecast to 380,000 barrels per day — a fifth straight downward revision — while a Reuters survey found August OPEC output fell 640,000 bpd.
- President Trump warned the U.S. may target Iran's Pickaxe Mountain near its damaged Natanz enrichment facility and said the war would end after the November midterm elections.
Why it matters: With crude up nearly 13% on the week and U.S. diesel crossing $6/gallon for the first time, fuel costs are now hitting consumers at the pump while shippers, airlines, and refiners absorb acute supply uncertainty — and the conflict's spread to Saudi facilities via Yemen marks a widening that IG's Tony Sycamore says could push WTI back toward its $119.48 March high.
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