Brent Crude Hits $100 on US-Iran and Houthi Strikes — SkimNews
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- Brent crude rose to $100.70 a barrel on Wednesday — up 2.83% from Tuesday — reaching $100 for the first time since late July amid escalating US-Iran and Houthi-Saudi military exchanges across the Gulf region and Yemen.
- US Central Command (Centcom) struck five Iranian tankers linked to the IRGC — Kaviz, Charminar, Horizon 1, and Riesco in the Gulf of Oman, plus Derya near Kharg Island — after the IRGC launched ballistic missiles at a US warship on two consecutive days; Centcom said crews were directed to abandon ship before the vessels were hit.
- Iran's Revolutionary Guards claimed attacks on two US Navy destroyers and eight oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz and struck Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan; Jordan intercepted 20 Iranian missiles with no casualties reported, and Centcom denied any US warship was struck.
- The IRGC announced plans for a new shipping "prohibited zone" extending beyond the Strait of Hormuz into the Arabian Sea, with spokesman Hossein Mohebi warning that any vessel entering without coordination "will be subject to our sanctions."
- Yemen's Houthis launched dozens of drones and missiles at Saudi cities Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jazan, and Najran on Tuesday, injuring 73 civilians and causing fires at oil facilities that temporarily halted operations; Houthi fighting on Yemen's southwestern coast has killed more than 500 people and displaced nearly 20,000 since Thursday.
- The Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world's oil and LNG shipments pass, has been effectively closed by Iranian attacks on commercial shipping and a US naval blockade of Iranian ports, with Brent crude now trading roughly 44% above its pre-war February price of about $70 a barrel.
Why it matters: With Brent crude at $100.70 — up 44% from ~$70 before the February war — and 20% of global oil and LNG shipments effectively blocked at the Strait of Hormuz, energy-importing economies and motorists worldwide absorb a direct supply shock that the source ties to concrete military actions: five named tankers struck, Jordan intercepting 20 missiles, and Houthi drone barrages on Saudi oil facilities.
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