Brent crude oil price nears $114, WTI tops $100 amid Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia

On a weekly basis, Brent is set to close higher for a third successive week, while WTI is on track to finish lower, ⁠following gains in the last two weeks. Brent has gained 4.2 percent over the past week and 12.5 percent over the past month. On a year-to-date basis, crude oil prices have surged 81.4 percent, reflecting the sharp impact of geopolitical uncertainty on energy markets. The global benchmark touched its yearly high of around $118 per barrel on March 31, 2026.

It is currently trading about 7 percent below that level. However, it has recovered sharply from its lowest level since the war began, at $71.50 per barrel on July 1, 2026, marking a rise of approximately 54 percent from the low. Crude oil price today: Factors behind the elevated prices Drone strikes on Shaybah oilfield and Houthi attacks on energy infra Oil prices have remained elevated amid drone strikes on Saudi Aramco’s Shaybah oilfield, Houthi attacks on energy infrastructure and tankers, and persistent uncertainty surrounding the prolonged conflict and stalled negotiations.

The heightened risk of disruptions to crude production and supply fears has sustained a geopolitical risk premium in oil prices. Earlier on Thursday, Saudi Aramco ordered the evacuation of its headquarters in Dhahran on the Gulf near Bahrain, Reuters reported, as fighting intensified between the world's largest crude exporter and Yemen-based Houthis. Strait of Hormuz disruption major concern The Strait of Hormuz has been a major concern for global energy supplies.

The strategic narrow waterway handles roughly one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies, making any disruption to shipping through the route a significant threat to energy security. Sea mines, Iranian attacks on commercial vessels, strikes and fires aboard ships, and restrictions and blockades have raised concerns over the continuity of maritime trade through the strait. These developments have reduced normal shipping transits and increased the risk of delays in energy deliveries.

Seven oil tankers caught fire or were damaged in the Strait of Hormuz overnight after being hit by Iran or striking naval mines, Tehran said Thursday, a markedly high number as tensions rise over concerns about a return to all-out war. Oil tankers are, however, still moving oil through the strait under US military protection despite the recent upsurge in attacks, AP reported, citing shipping data and analysis company Lloyd's List Intelligence.

Tanker operators willing to risk the voyage have been shuttling oil from Gulf producers through the strait at night with their location systems and mobile phones turned off using a US-protected lane near the coast of Oman. Those tankers transfer oil to other tankers waiting in the Gulf of Oman for shipment to customers in Asia. Those “active Gulf operators show little sign of retreating” despite 28 attacks on ships in October, the highest since the start of the war, Lloyd's said in an online webinar Thursday.

The so-called “dark shuttle” overseen by US Central Command has helped keep oil shipments from the Gulf at roughly prewar levels, but at high costs in time, money and sailors' lives. Spot charter rates for tankers have soared into the hundreds of thousands of dollars a day, while the ship-to-ship transfers can take several days. Iran says it's open to diplomacy but also self-defence. Higher transportation, security costs

Higher transportation and security costs are also contributing to elevation of crude oil prices. War-risk insurance premiums and additional measures required to secure safe pass of commercial ships have increased the cost of moving energy supplies through the region, reinforcing the geopolitical risk premium in crude oil. Tight fuel supplies add to market pressure Beyond crude oil, constraints on refined-product exports from the Gulf have added to fuel availability concerns.

Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries have also tightened fuel supplies, even as Russian crude shipments recover. The combination of constrained refined-product exports, risks to key shipping routes and potential disruptions to energy infrastructure has raised fears in the oil markets. (With inputs from Reuters)