On the afternoon of 23/7, Brent crude prices increased by 3.8% to 97.7 USD a barrel, their highest level since early June. US WTI crude also rose by 3% to 89.4 USD.
Global oil prices have risen for the fifth consecutive session, driven by supply concerns as Houthi forces attack ships in the Red Sea and US-Iran mutual strikes nearly close the Hormuz Strait.
Priyanka Sachdeva, a senior market analyst at Phillip Nova, believes oil prices face rare risks as shipping operations are simultaneously disrupted in both the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Hormuz Strait.
"Geopolitical risks are back, but for oil prices to sustain their rally, the market needs evidence of prolonged shipping disruptions or significant supply shortfalls", Sachdeva commented.
Saul Kavonic, head of energy research at MST Marquee, stated that new threats to shipping lanes through the Red Sea could disrupt the supply of up to 5 million barrels of oil per day.
Tensions in the Middle East have reignited in recent weeks. The US has conducted airstrikes against Iran for 12 consecutive nights. Iran has retaliated by targeting US military positions in the region.
On social media platform X, Yahya Saree, a spokesperson for the Iran-backed Houthi armed group, announced that early this morning, their forces attacked two Saudi Arabian oil tankers, Encelia and Layla, with missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The Houthi group claims these two vessels violated their "maritime blockade order" in the Red Sea.
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Brent crude price movements over the past year. Chart: Trading Economics
The Houthi group controls the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait, connecting the Arabian Sea and the Red Sea. This strait has become a key passage for many cargo and oil tankers since the Hormuz Strait was blockaded due to the Iran conflict.
Meanwhile, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps reported that an oil tanker caught fire after attempting to navigate a shipping lane that the force claims was mined in the southern Hormuz Strait. Two other oil tankers turned back upon reaching the area.
Ha Thu (according to Reuters)
