Key facts
- Brent crude traded at $102.50 per barrel, up over 2% from Wednesday's close.
- West Texas Intermediate crude traded at $89.96 per barrel, up 1.90% from Wednesday's close.
- Tanker traffic in the Strait of Hormuz fell to its lowest level since late July.
- A U.S. Navy-led information outlet reported a dozen attacks between September 28 and October 2.
Oil prices rose on Thursday, with Brent crude climbing back above $100 per barrel, as escalating attacks by Iran on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz overshadowed news of planned strategic petroleum reserve releases. West Texas Intermediate also saw significant gains.
Reports of increased Iranian aggression in the critical waterway, with a dozen attacks noted between September 28 and October 2, have led to a sharp drop in tanker traffic, reaching its lowest point since late July. Despite the risks, producers are continuing to ship oil due to a lack of viable alternatives, according to ANZ analyst Daniel Hynes.
Simultaneously, operators in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico began shutting in production as a precautionary measure ahead of a potential hurricane. This adds another layer of supply concern to the market.
Earlier in the week, oil prices had softened on an update from the International Energy Agency regarding the release of 100 million barrels of crude and fuels. However, observers noted that this release is part of a larger, already-announced plan to tap 400 million barrels from inventories to mitigate the impact of the war on fuel prices, suggesting the market had largely priced this in.