Shortage fears grow as attacks on tankers in Strait of Hormuz push oil prices higher

Oil prices jumped on October 8, with Brent crude up about 5 percent to $105.20 a barrel and WTI up a similar margin to $92.75, driven by escalating attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz and a hurricane threatening U.S. Gulf production. An analyst quoted in the piece said the frequency of Iranian attacks on shipping is now at its highest point since the war began and is likely to worsen.

The Strait of Hormuz, which carried roughly 20 percent of global oil and fuel before the war, has seen rising export volumes alongside rising insurance and security costs as the U.S.-Israel-Iran conflict enters its eighth month. A UK maritime agency reported a tanker north of Qatar was hit by multiple projectiles, with people injured.

The article notes the IEA's planned release of reserve barrels appears to be part of a previously adopted 400-million-barrel plan rather than a new emergency measure, meaning no fresh use of strategic reserves is actually underway despite the market turmoil.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.