Oil climbs to $111 as Middle East tensions escalate

Oil prices moved higher on Tuesday, with Brent crude futures gaining 1.42 per cent to $111.11 a barrel, according to Mettis Global data. Investors kept their eyes on market risk as tensions deepened in the Middle East and US front-month futures contracts neared expiry. West Texas Intermediate, by contrast, slipped $1.89, or 1.92 per cent, to $100.43 a barrel.

According to CNBC, ship-tracking firm Kpler counted at least 18 commercial vessels reportedly attacked around the Strait of Hormuz over the past fortnight. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said two oil tankers caught fire after hitting mines its naval unit had laid in the strait, and it called the ships non-compliant. Tasnim, which is linked to the Iranian state, carried the account.

Tehran also warned Washington that any American strike would draw a retaliation of matching or greater strength, a message delivered by Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei at a weekly briefing, Tasnim reported. Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump said US forces would stay off attacking Iran ahead of the midterm elections on November 3.