Oil jumps 6%, crosses $100 as Saudi tankers hit in Red Sea

July 23, 2026 (MLN): Oil prices surged past $100 per barrel late on Thursday, reaching their highest level in nearly two months, after Yemen's Houthi forces said they had attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, widening the conflict beyond the Strait of Hormuz and deepening fears of a broader supply disruption.

Currently, Brent crude futures is up, 6.62%, at $100.3 per barrel, up from around $95.88 earlier in the day, according to data by Mettis Global.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures is up by $5.38, or 6.2%, to $92.21 per barrel by [9:20 pm] PST.

The Houthis, aligned with Iran, have now opened a second front in the Bab el-Mandeb strait, threatening tankers carrying Saudi crude and pressing ahead with a naval blockade targeting Saudi Arabia, according to Reuters.

The US military confirmed it had carried out its twelfth straight night of strikes on Iranian targets, shortly after President Donald Trump pledged that a bridge or power plant in Iran would be destroyed each time Iranian forces fired on a vessel transiting the Strait of Hormuz  a warning that marks a further escalation in the standoff between Washington and Tehran.

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