Global oil prices have surpassed $100 per barrel as escalating fighting between the US and Iran, and Houthi attacks on Saudi energy infrastructure, raised fears of further supply disruptions. Brent crude broke the threshold for the first time in nearly two months. Brent futures climbed 2.2% to $100.07 per barrel in Asian trading, their highest level since July 24. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose 1.83% to $94.73, while Brent has gained around 25% since early August as hopes of a lasting settlement to the US-Iran conflict have faded. “Recent developments only reinforce the view that we’re still some way from a restart in talks. In the meantime, the market is likely to continue to price in a sizeable risk premium,” ING commodities strategists Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey wrote in a note early Wednesday. The latest price surge followed a sharp escalation at sea. US forces struck five Iranian crude carriers on Tuesday, and Iran later claimed that it hit two US vessels and eight oil tankers in the Persian Gulf in retaliation, inflicting “significant damage.” The attacks came after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) issued an “urgent warning” to tanker crews near Bahrain and Kuwait to abandon their ships, saying vessels in the area would be targeted. Ballistic missiles were subsequently launched from Iran toward US military facilities across the region, including those in Jordan, where air defenses intercepted 18 of 20 incoming missiles, according to the military...Read more