Oil jumps 6pc to USD107 on supply concerns

Business Recorder reported that oil prices rose 6 percent on Thursday, pushing both major benchmarks above USD100 a barrel. The move came as attacks on ships rose to their sharpest level since hostilities with Iran began, fuelling worries that already tight supplies could be disrupted further. Brent crude futures reached USD107.08 a barrel, their highest level since mid-May, while West Texas Intermediate rose to USD101.62.

Both benchmarks are now more than 30 percent above early August lows, as a lasting US-Iran accord to halt attacks never took shape and fighting resumed. Houthi forces seized Yemen's port of Mocha, adding risk to Red Sea traffic, while Gulf shipments through the Strait of Hormuz remain restricted. Iran claimed it hit 10 vessels near the strait on Wednesday following US strikes on five Iranian tankers. Donald Trump cautioned that Washington could strike Pickaxe Mountain and suggested the conflict might continue past the November midterms.

Analysts see the advance hinging on China, the largest crude buyer, which has increased purchases in recent weeks after a period of soft demand. According to the Energy Information Administration, US crude stocks shrank by 391,000 barrels in the latest week, leaving 424.1 million barrels, a smaller drop than the 1.55-million-barrel decline analysts had anticipated. OPEC's monthly report on Thursday cut its 2026 world oil demand growth forecast to 380,000 barrels per day, the fifth consecutive downward revision.