Brent Tops $90 as Tankers Burn and Hormuz Shipping Seizes Up
Oil surged above $90 a barrel on Monday, its highest since mid-June, after the ninth night of strikes and a third American death revived fears over the Strait of Hormuz. Brent rose more than 2.5 per cent to around $90.50, capping a near-16 per cent weekly gain. Only four vessels transited the strait on Sunday, down from eight, and Britain’s maritime authority reported a vessel on fire off the coast of Oman.
The chokepoint normally carries about a fifth of the world’s oil, and traffic has fallen to a three-week low as Iran attacks tankers using routes it has not sanctioned and Washington blockades Iranian ports. The Revolutionary Guard said two tankers had “exploded” overnight after being coerced into an “unsafe” corridor. Britain and France are running a naval reassurance mission from Oman to protect commercial shipping. For British households the transmission runs straight to petrol pumps and winter energy bills. Analysts at Quantum Strategy have flagged a target of $95 to $105 a barrel if exports keep dwindling. Watch whether OPEC signals any spare-capacity response.