The price of oil breached the $100 threshold Wednesday for the first time since July, as new flare-ups in the United States’ war with Iran stoked fresh concern for global energy markets.
The spike came a day after the U.S. military said it destroyed five Iranian tankers in response to attempted missile attacks on a Navy warship. Tehran responded with attacks on U.S. ships and a base in Jordan, the latest bout of fighting in a conflict that remains unresolved after months of global economic disruption.
Elsewhere new attacks by a Tehran-backed rebel group set oil facilities ablaze in Saudi Arabia and threatened a significant new escalation in that conflict.
The international benchmark, Brent crude, rose above the symbolic $100 mark at a little after 3 a.m. ET, before pushing higher to nearly $101 later in the morning.
While about 40% higher than prewar levels, Brent was still below the peak of $120 in the early days of the war. Since the start of the year, the benchmark is up by more than 65%.
U.S. crude oil is also up by similar levels and just before 8 a.m. ET, it rose above $95 per barrel for the first time since June.
Those prices are of significant concern to the White House and Republicans ahead of the midterm elections, with consumers facing higher prices as a result.
Gas prices rose to $4.22 Wednesday, the highest since early June.
Oil exports from the Middle East have dwindled since the U.S. and Israel launched their war against Iran in February. A fifth of the world’s oil supply had flowed through the Strait of Hormuz, the key waterway that has been throttled by Tehran in response.
While the U.S. military has managed to restore some shipping traffic through Hormuz, other key trade routes have also faced disruption.
Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have attacked tankers in the Red Sea. This week, the group launched attacks on Saudi energy facilities that set oil sites ablaze and threatened a significant expansion of its conflict with the key U.S. ally.
President Donald Trump claimed on social media Monday that “oil prices will drop precipitously, like everything else is dropping (but more!), when we WIN the war with Iran.”
He said that prices could fall to as low as “two dollars a gallon.”
There was little sign of that, or of a resolution to the war.
Earlier in the week, commodities experts warned that oil prices as measured by Brent could rise to $120 or even as high as $150 per barrel if the stalemate with Iran continues to drag on.
Trump has shifted to a strategy of squeezing the Iranian economy with the U.S. maritime blockade, but recent days have seen a number of violent flare-ups.