Iran has increased the frequency of attacks on oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, pushing the price of Brent crude up 0.8% to more than $101 a barrel in Asian morning trading. Britain's maritime trade operations agency reported that since the start of October there have been 9 attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz, accounting for half of all attacks reported in the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf during the whole of September, when 4 attacks occurred in the final two days of the month. The heightened risk has also driven freight rates sharply higher, with data from the Baltic Exchange showing that the cost of shipping oil from the Persian Gulf to China rose to a record high of $1.3 million per day on Monday, compared with an average of only about $60,000 per day over the past year. Oman's Ministry of Defence said on Tuesday that officials were able to rescue 10 crew members from the commercial vessel On Peace after the ship caught fire following an attack. Meanwhile, U.S. Vice President JD Vance said any agreement would have to require Iran to reduce its uranium enrichment capacity, not merely promise to scale back nuclear activity in the future. Before the latest wave of attacks, major commodity trading houses estimated that energy shipments from the Middle East were at about 80% of pre-conflict levels, a factor that had helped push Brent back below $100 a barrel.
The article directly attributes Brent's rise above $101 to increased Iranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran's escalating attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz raise Middle East supply-disruption risk, lifting crude prices including WTI.
Singapore Exchange Limited
