Oil prices jump back above $100 per barrel
by Joe Fisher · UPIJuly 23 (UPI) -- The price of Brent crude oil rose above $100 per barrel on Thursday, a sign of global concern over the renewed fighting between Iran and the United States.
Oil prices rose at a stark rate as the Houthis, an Iranian-backed group, have begun targeting oil tankers from Saudi Arabia, further putting the global oil supply at risk.
The Houthis have enacted a blockade on the Red Sea and claim that two Saudi Arabian tankers violated it on Thursday. They added that they used ballistic and cruise missiles and drones on the tankers, setting one ablaze.
Brent crude oil surpassed $100 per barrel in March after the war in Iran started and remained there until late May before falling as talks of peace between the United States and Iran picked up.
The United States has launched strikes on Iran for 12-straight days since the peace agreement fell apart.
Fighting has intensified since two U.S. troops were killed by Iranian strikes on a military base in Jordan last weekend.
President Donald Trump said that U.S. strikes that have followed the deaths of the U.S. troops are in retaliation, warning that Iran will "pay."
West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, climbed over the $90 mark.
While the price of oil climbs globally, some of Iran's oil supply remains in the market, accounting for an estimated $5 to $7.50 reduction in prices per barrel, energy policy researchers say.
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Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on President Donald Trump's June 24 supplemental funding request at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo