Oil Prices Surge to $105 as Middle East Conflict Escalates

Attacks on ships around the Strait of Hormuz have continued as a war between Saudi Arabia and the Houthi militia intensified.

· Oil prices jumped sharply, with Brent crude rising over 4% to above $105 per barrel, as investors worried about disruptions to global oil supplies.

· The surge followed an escalation of fighting between Saudi Arabia and Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi militia.

· The Houthis claimed they attacked Riyadh's airport with a ballistic missile, increasing concerns about regional stability.

· Global stock markets fell, with the S&P 500 down about 0.5% and markets in Europe and Asia also declining.

· The Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20% of the world's oil supply normally passes, remains a major concern despite increased shipping activity in recent weeks.

· Attacks on oil tankers have intensified, with at least eight tankers attacked in one week, raising risks to energy transportation.

· Recent incidents included:

o A tanker near Qatar hit by multiple projectiles, resulting in casualties.

o A tanker near Fujairah, UAE, struck by an unidentified projectile, possibly causing an oil spill.

· Analysts warn that growing tensions in both the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea are increasing risks to global energy exports.

· Market uncertainty was amplified by President Trump's mixed signals on possible U.S. action against Iran.

· Rising oil prices and geopolitical tensions have contributed to higher global bond yields and interest rates, increasing borrowing costs.

· Tropical Storm Isaias, approaching the U.S. Gulf Coast, has also caused some oil production shutdowns, though analysts see it as a secondary factor.

· Experts describe the situation as highly fluid, with fears that attacks could increase further after upcoming U.S. midterm elections.

· Despite tensions, geopolitical analyst Ian Bremmer said the conflict has remained relatively contained and that the U.S. appears focused on maintaining economic pressure on Iran rather than expanding the war.

[ABS News Service/09.10.2026]

Oil prices surged and stock prices fell on Thursday (08.10.2026) after an escalation of the conflict in the Middle East appeared to raise fresh concerns over supply disruptions.

Saudi Arabia’s capital was rattled as a war between the Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen and a Saudi-led military coalition intensified. A Houthi military spokesman said early Thursday that the group had attacked Riyadh’s airport with a ballistic missile.

Brent crude, the global benchmark, climbed 4 percent higher on Thursday to above $105 a barrel, before retreating a little after President Trump said on his social media site that the United States would not attack Iran before the midterm elections.

The S&P 500 ended the day about 0.5 percent lower, and stocks in Europe and Asia declined.

Over the past month, oil flows have increased through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for oil and gas exports that Iran had blocked for months. More shipping operators have decided to take on the risk of transiting the strait in part because U.S. forces have been providing guidance and protection.

But attacks on tankers in and around the Strait of Hormuz in the last week have increased greatly. At the same time, the worsening conflict between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia has added to the danger of exporting energy through the Red Sea, which had been a workaround for transporting Saudi oil.

“We should have seen prices coming down a little bit but we have not seen that,” said Jorge Leon, a senior vice president with Rystad Energy, a consulting firm. “Things in the Red Sea are heating up badly.”

Moreover, Mr. Leon said, oil markets were rattled again by Mr. Trump’s threats against Iran. Mr. Trump said this week that he was weighing options for next steps in the war before suggesting on Thursday that the United States would not restart hostilities soon.

Rising energy prices and the turmoil in the Middle East have rattled investors, with analysts saying it has contributed to the sharp rise in interest rates reflected in the bond market.

The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury bond, which underpins the rates on mortgages, business loans and many other types of debt, has recently hovered around its highest level since 2002, jumping to 5.34 percent on Thursday before easing. Government bond yields in other countries have also come under pressure, as central banks plan a series of interest rate increases to rein in inflation.

The vulnerability of trade routes across the Persian Gulf has been a central threat to global energy markets since the United States and Israel launched military strikes against Iran on Feb. 28. Before the war, the Strait of Hormuz carried a fifth of the world’s oil supply.

At least eight tankers have been attacked so far this week, part of a significant escalation in Iranian attacks on tankers.

The latest two attacks in the strait occurred on Wednesday. A tanker in waters north of Qatar was hit by “multiple projectiles,” causing casualties, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operation, an agency run by Britain’s Royal Navy.

The vessel was struck by three drones while drifting, which underscores the risks not just to tankers passing through the strait but to all ships in the Persian Gulf, including waters north of Qatar, said Dimitris Maniatis, the founder of Marisks, a maritime risk consultancy.

In a separate incident, a tanker in waters east of Fujairah, a United Arab Emirates port, was attacked by an unidentified projectile, according to Marisks. Satellite images showed a slick surrounded the vessel, a potential indication of an oil spill, Marisks found.

Carole Nakhle, chief executive of Crystol Energy, an advisory firm, called the conflict a “very fluid situation” for oil markets.

Another factor weighing on oil markets was Tropical Storm Isaias, which is on the cusp of becoming a hurricane and is headed for the Gulf Coast of the United States, the heartland of American oil refining. Ahead of the storm, oil and gas producers shut a significant portion of the region’s offshore production, which accounts for about 15 percent of total U.S. crude.

Still, Mr. Leon called the hurricane “marginal” to the oil markets. “The main issue is there’s an expectation that there will be a ramp up in attacks after the midterm elections,” he said.

Ian Bremmer, who runs the geopolitical risk consultancy Eurasia Group, said that despite the level of threats that Iran and the United States had hurled at each other, the war in Iran has remained relatively contained.

“The Americans are at the margins, engaging in more limited efforts to show that they are serious, to show that they have patience economically, that they can wait out and outlast the Iranians while they squeeze them in order to end up in a better negotiating position than they have been in the past months,” Mr. Bremmer said.