WORLD
Brent breaches past $100 as Houthi rebels attack Saudi tankers, raising inflation fears
- IBJ Bureau
- Jul 24, 2026
Brent oil shot to its highest price since May on Thursday as increased fighting in the Middle East threatened to slow the global flow of crude oil.
At the same time, sharp drops for two of Wall Street’s most influential companies, Alphabet and Tesla, pulled the US stock market lower.
The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international standard, jumped on Thursday by 7.2 per cent to $100.87.
The surge in benchmark oil price was triggered as the Houthi rebels in Yemen attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea.
The attack threatens another avenue that oil companies use to move their crude oil from the Middle East to customers worldwide along with the Strait of Hormuz.
Underscoring the importance of the sea route for the economy, US President Donald Trump has threatened “major military punishment” against the Houthi rebels in Yemen, who are backed by Iran, if they keep attacking ships.
It was just a few weeks ago that Brent had dropped below $72 per barrel, roughly back to where it was before the US and Israel attacked Iran to begin their war.
The price had shrunk on hopes that the Strait of Hormuz would fully reopen to oil tankers.
The jump in oil prices threaten to worsen inflation just when it had begun to decelerate by more than economists expected.
Report By
View Reporter News