Brent Crude Tops $101 as Strait of Hormuz Attacks Intensify and Houthi Missile Intercepted Near Saudi Airbase
Why It MattersEscalating Gulf shipping attacks and regional airspace disruptions raise fuel-cost and routing risk exposure for operators flying through or near Middle East airspace.
Oil prices climbed in early Asian trading on Wednesday, with Brent crude rising 0.9 per cent to $101.48 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate up 1.0 per cent to $90.29, as concerns over Middle East supply disruptions resurfaced. The gains followed a report from UK Maritime Trade Operations of nine attacks on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz so far this month, half the total recorded across the waterway and the Persian Gulf during all of September, pointing to intensified Iranian attacks on tankers using the route.
Adding to the tension, the Saudi-led coalition said it had intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile launched by Houthis toward Khamis Mushait, home to a major airbase in southwestern Saudi Arabia. The Houthis separately claimed to have struck Riyadh's main airport and a Saudi Aramco refinery, though Saudi authorities have not publicly confirmed any strike on the airport. The civil aviation authority said at least three people were wounded in attacks on Jazan and Najran airports near the Yemen border, and residents reported loud explosions in Riyadh. Flightradar24 noted frequent temporary airspace closures at Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport, which Saudi authorities have not publicly acknowledged.
Sources on both sides told AFP that more than 270 government troops and Houthi fighters had been killed in fighting across Yemen in the preceding 24 hours, with the Houthis saying they retained full control of territorial gains in Al-Jawf, Marib and Taiz. The Yemeni government said its forces had pushed Houthis from areas around the Bab al-Mandeb strait and the port city of Mocha, though military sources stopped short of confirming the city's recapture.
Earlier in the week, Brent had slipped below $100 and WTI below $90 on signs that Middle East oil exports, excluding Iran, were recovering toward pre-war levels, before the fresh Hormuz attacks reversed that move. Pakistan and Turkey pledged to deploy troops to Saudi Arabia under a mutual defence pact, which analyst Hamish Kinnear of Verisk Maplecroft said is likely to involve intercepting Houthi missiles and drones.
