Ice Brent futures extended gains in early Asian trading hours, after attacks in the Red Sea heightened security concerns in the region.
The Ice front-month September Brent contract was at $96.20/bl at 04:00 GMT, higher by $2.13/bl from its settlement on 22 July, when it ended $3.06/bl higher.
The Nymex front-month September crude contract was at $88.40/bl, up by $1.57/bl from its settlement on 22 July, when it ended $2.49/bl higher.
Yemen's Houthis claim to have struck two crude tankers in the Red Sea on 22 July, in an apparent enforcement of the group's proclaimed ban on Saudi Arabian maritime navigation.
In a social media post the Houthis claimed to have attacked two tankers carrying Saudi Arabian crude, the Encelia and the Layla.
"The Yemeni Armed Forces carried out a qualitative military operation targeting two Saudi oil tankers that violated the blockade imposed by the Armed Forces in the Red Sea," according to a Telegram post at 21:32 GMT Wednesday.
The UK Trade Maritime Organisation (UKTMO) reported at 21:00 GMT that a single tanker was struck by an unknown projectile that caused a fire onboard.
Vessel traffic through the strait of Hormuz on the US-assisted southern transit route stopped completely following increased Iranian attacks on vessels at the start of the week.
Out of the 10 vessels that transited the strait of Hormuz on 21 July, eight vessels took the Iran-favoured northern transit route, while two vessels transited through the center transit lane where most traffic passed before the war, data from vessel tracking service Windward shows.
Vessel traffic through the center transit lane has been uncommon since the breakout of the war because of suspected Iranian-placed mines throughout the area. Commercial traffic through the strait of Hormuz since the outbreak of the war on 28 February has been bifurcated between the northern route, which runs along the Iranian coastline, and the southern route along the Omani coast.
Tropical storm Bertha, the second named storm of the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season, made landfall on the southeast coast of Louisiana on 22 July, threatening an area with significant oil refining assets and commodity marine terminals.
The storm warning area includes a portion of the coast of Louisiana and the entire coasts of Alabama and Mississippi. The three states have a combined oil refinery capacity of about 3.5mn b/d at 15 facilities, most of them in Louisiana.
Ice Brent futures extended gains in early Asian trading hours, after attacks in the Red Sea heightened security concerns in the region.
The Ice front-month September Brent contract was at $96.20/bl at 04:00 GMT, higher by $2.13/bl from its settlement on 22 July, when it ended $3.06/bl higher.
The Nymex front-month September crude contract was at $88.40/bl, up by $1.57/bl from its settlement on 22 July, when it ended $2.49/bl higher.
Yemen's Houthis claim to have struck two crude tankers in the Red Sea on 22 July, in an apparent enforcement of the group's proclaimed ban on Saudi Arabian maritime navigation.
In a social media post the Houthis claimed to have attacked two tankers carrying Saudi Arabian crude, the Encelia and the Layla.
"The Yemeni Armed Forces carried out a qualitative military operation targeting two Saudi oil tankers that violated the blockade imposed by the Armed Forces in the Red Sea," according to a Telegram post at 21:32 GMT Wednesday.
The UK Trade Maritime Organisation (UKTMO) reported at 21:00 GMT that a single tanker was struck by an unknown projectile that caused a fire onboard.
Vessel traffic through the strait of Hormuz on the US-assisted southern transit route stopped completely following increased Iranian attacks on vessels at the start of the week.
Out of the 10 vessels that transited the strait of Hormuz on 21 July, eight vessels took the Iran-favoured northern transit route, while two vessels transited through the center transit lane where most traffic passed before the war, data from vessel tracking service Windward shows.
Vessel traffic through the center transit lane has been uncommon since the breakout of the war because of suspected Iranian-placed mines throughout the area. Commercial traffic through the strait of Hormuz since the outbreak of the war on 28 February has been bifurcated between the northern route, which runs along the Iranian coastline, and the southern route along the Omani coast.
Tropical storm Bertha, the second named storm of the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season, made landfall on the southeast coast of Louisiana on 22 July, threatening an area with significant oil refining assets and commodity marine terminals.
The storm warning area includes a portion of the coast of Louisiana and the entire coasts of Alabama and Mississippi. The three states have a combined oil refinery capacity of about 3.5mn b/d at 15 facilities, most of them in Louisiana.
By YouLiang Chay