Brent Breaks $100 for the First Time in Nearly Two Months

Brent crude pushed past the $100-per-barrel threshold early Wednesday in Asian trading, climbing 2.25% to $100.12 — its strongest showing since July 24. The U.S. benchmark, WTI, also advanced, rising 1.80% to $94.67 and moving toward the $95 mark. The price advance has been driven by renewed hostilities between the United States and Iran and by attacks on regional energy infrastructure. Market participants said the escalation has weakened hopes that diplomacy will soon restore normal oil flows, supporting a higher price level. U.S. Central Command said late Tuesday that American forces destroyed five Iranian crude oil carriers, an action it described as a response to an Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps attack on a U.S. Navy warship with ballistic missiles. Four vessels named by Centcom — M/T Kaviz, M/T Charminar, M/T Horizon 1 and M/T Riesco — were struck in the Gulf of Oman, while M/T Derya was hit near Kharg Island. Iran responded by launching ballistic missiles toward Jordan and issued warnings that ships in the Persian Gulf could be targeted. Jordan’s Armed Forces reported that 20 missiles were fired from Iranian territory; 18 were intercepted and destroyed and the remaining two fell in unpopulated areas, with no casualties reported. ING commodities strategists Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey said the recent events reinforce the view that a restart of talks is still some way off and that markets are likely to continue pricing in a sizeable risk premium. (Reporting by Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com)