Brent crude climbed 5% on Thursday to more than $105 a barrel after a tanker was hit off Qatar and traffic through the Strait of Hormuz slowed again.
Kpler data showed weekly Hormuz flows had recovered to 15mn barrels a day in late September—nearly 90% of prewar levels—but have fallen back to about 11mn b/d, with just 4mn barrels transiting on Tuesday.
UK Maritime Trade Operations counted nine vessel attacks near the strait in the first week of October, and said the Qatar strike involved multiple projectiles and caused casualties.
WTI rose 5% to $92.70, with a Gulf of Mexico hurricane curbing some US output, while higher oil deepened the bond sell-off and pushed UK 10-year gilt yields to 5.52%, the highest since 2007.
Brent now trades about 45% above its prewar level, and the renewed disruption has also lifted shipping costs and helped drive European diesel prices nearly 100% higher.