Oil climbs to $107 as Gulf supply fears intensify

Crude benchmarks climbed again on Tuesday, with Brent rising 1.85 per cent to $107.64 and WTI up $1.98 at $103.37, according to Mettis Global data. The rise came after fresh clashes between Saudi Arabia and Iran, stoking fears of disrupted crude flows through the Gulf.

Saudi Arabia shut its East-West pipeline, a bypass route around the Strait of Hormuz, once drones from Iraq hit it, CNBC reported. Oil markets had already been tightening before the shutdown, the broadcaster noted. Separately, Al Jazeera cited the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen as saying 13 civilians were hurt after Monday's Houthi missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia.

Tension also persisted around the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran claimed it destroyed an advanced US drone. CENTCOM rejected an IRGC assertion that the Panama-flagged tanker El Gaia struck a mine, saying instead that it was hit by an Iranian missile last month and disabled. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that Washington could carry on its campaign against Iran and possibly seize the country's oil resources.