Oil prices jump by about 5% to the highest level in 6 weeks

Oil prices rose today, Thursday, by about 5%, reaching their highest level in more than six weeks, and the price of US Nymex crude exceeded $90, recording the highest level since June 11, at a time when the United States launched a new round of strikes on Iran, and the Houthis in Yemen targeted ships in the Red Sea.

By 09:49 GMT, Brent crude futures rose $4.62, or 4.91%, to $98.69, their highest level since June 8. The price of Brent crude increased by more than $3 to $94.07 at settlement in the last session.

The price of US West Texas Intermediate crude rose $3.41, or 3.41%, to $90.24, after rising by about 3% yesterday, Wednesday, according to Reuters.

The US military said that it carried out attacks against Iran for the twelfth night in a row, hours after US President Donald Trump threatened to destroy a bridge or power station in Iran every time it fired on a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, escalating tensions in the war.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard said that an oil tanker caught fire following an explosion while trying to pass through what it described as a mined road south of the Strait of Hormuz, adding that two other tankers turned back.

In a post on the X platform, a spokesman for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard warned shipping companies that the southern route of the Strait of Hormuz was mined.

Meanwhile, an official source at the General Transport Authority in Saudi Arabia stated that the ship (ENCELIA), belonging to a Saudi company, was targeted while sailing in the Red Sea, resulting in a fire in the bow of the ship.

The source confirmed the safety of all crew members, and that the concerned authorities took all necessary measures to secure the ship and its crew and protect the marine environment.

These targets are a violation of international laws and norms that guarantee the safety of commercial ships and their crews.

On the supply side in the United States, the US Energy Information Administration reported that crude oil inventories rose by two million barrels last week, that refinery operating rates declined, and that oil exports fell, while imports rose.

Analysts in a poll conducted by Reuters expected crude inventories to decline by 1.1 million barrels.