&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Brent Crude hits $100 per barrel after seven weeks as tension in Middle East escalates")
Brent North Sea crude, the international oil benchmark, climbed above $100 a barrel on Wednesday (September 9) for the first time since late July, as renewed tensions in the Middle East raised concerns over global supplies. Brent prices surged more than 2% to $100.19 a barrel before easing slightly to $99.90. The sharp rise has also fueled concerns that higher energy costs could add to inflationary pressures.
Brent crude futures rose $2.15, or 2.2%, to $100.07 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude gained $1.70, or 1.83%, to $94.73. Brent has climbed roughly 25% since early August as hopes for a permanent resolution to the six-month-old US-Iran conflict have faded. The latest surge has been fuelled by growing concerns that the conflict could spread across the Middle East and disrupt key oil-supply routes.
This week, attacks by Iran-backed Houthi forces on Saudi energy facilities set oil installations ablaze, raising fears of a significant widening of the conflict. The attacks could also threaten crude shipments through the Red Sea, an important alternative route to the Strait of Hormuz. Oil flows through Hormuz, one of the world's most critical energy chokepoints, have been severely disrupted since the Iran war satrted on February 28.
Before fighting resumed on August 30, around 8 million to 9 million barrels per day had moved through the strait, according to Rystad Energy Chief Economist Claudio Galimberti. That was roughly twice the previous week's volume. More recently, however, flows have fallen below 2 million barrels per day. The supply risks have prompted a growing number of major banks, including Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and HSBC, to raise their forecasts for crude prices in recent days.
