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Oil hits $100
Oil prices topped $100 a barrel on Thursday as escalating Middle East conflict reignited fears over global energy supplies, with Brent rising more than 6% after Houthi militia attacked oil tankers in the Red Sea.
“Rising stock graph and the words "Oil Prices" are seen in this illustration taken March 23, 2026”
The BBC said Brent crude rose more than 6% on Thursday following several days of increases as the US stepped up military strikes against Iran, and the attacks threatened a key export route Saudi Arabia has used to bypass the Strait of Hormuz.
CBS News reported Brent crude rose $5.76, or 6.1%, to settle at $100.69 a barrel, citing FactSet data, while the national average gasoline price hit $4.09 a gallon on Thursday, up from $3.94 a week earlier, according to AAA.
The Guardian tied the move to fears that Yemen’s Houthi militia could strangle Saudi oil exports through the Red Sea while US-Iran tensions over oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz intensify, pushing the benchmark oil price up from $95 the day before.
In the same market move, Forbes said Brent front-month crude oil futures settled in London at $100.68 per barrel, up 7% or $7.04 on Thursday, as heightened tensions squeezed exports.
Tankers, blockade, strikes
The price surge followed the Houthis’ targeting of Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, with Al-Monitor saying Iran-backed rebels targeted two Saudi oil tankers, Ensilia and Leila, using drones and missiles.
Al-Monitor reported the Saudi official news agency (SPA) said the oil tanker “Ensilia” came under attack while crossing the Red Sea, causing a fire to break out on its foredeck, while the SPA report did not address the status of the oil tanker “Leila.”
Al Jazeera net said oil prices rose above $100 per barrel for the first time in two months after the Houthi group announced it targeted two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, and it cited Bloomberg News on the escalation and fears of disrupting global crude supplies.
CBS News said the attacks threatened shipping in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which carries around 7% of the global oil supply, according to Oxford Economics, and it reported that the surge in oil prices complicated the outlook for the Federal Reserve ahead of its July 29 interest rate decision.
In parallel, the BBC said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters the people in charge in Iran were "not ready to make a deal," keeping pressure on energy markets as the conflict risks pushing up inflation.
Fed, inflation, costs
Higher oil prices fed into broader financial stakes, with the BBC warning that the ongoing conflict risks pushing up inflation for many countries, including the UK and the US, through higher prices for consumers.
The BBC cited a statement from Jonathan Raymond, investment manager at Quilter Cheviot, saying, "More expensive fuel and energy can ripple through the wider economy, increasing costs for businesses" and ultimately feeding through into the price of food and other goods.
CBS News reported the surge in oil prices threatened to push inflation higher and place pressure on the Fed to keep rates steady or even introduce a hike, and it quoted Nigel Green, CEO of deVere Group, saying, "Rate cuts investors were counting on for later this year look a lot less certain today".
The Guardian added that fears about mounting economic impact from the Iran war caused government borrowing costs for the world’s biggest economies to rise on Thursday as investors weighed up the risk that a surge in the oil price could rekindle global inflationary pressures.
In the same market pressure, 77 WABC said rising Treasury yields raised concerns that borrowing costs could stay higher if energy prices feed into inflation expectations, while noting the key question for consumers is whether the jump in oil holds.
