Oil prices gain with 18 Hormuz attacks in two weeks

• Brent above $110 a barrel
• 31 maritime incidents this month
• IRGC says two tankers on fire

Oil prices rose in early trading on Wednesday as risks to vessels in the Strait of Hormuz increased.

Brent crude futures rose 1.48 percent to $110.4 a barrel by 03:00 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude climbed 1.38 percent to $99.17.

Both global benchmarks have risen more than 40 percent so far this year.

Crude prices rose as mediators struggled to bring the US and Iran back to the negotiating table.

At least 18 vessel attacks have been reported in the strait over the past two weeks, Reuters reported.

The UK Maritime Trade Operations Centre (UKMTO) has reported 31 incidents in and around the strategic waterway so far this month.

On Tuesday, it reported an incident involving a tanker and military forces east of Duqm, Oman.

Two “non-compliant” oil tankers caught fire on Tuesday after striking mines laid by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) naval unit in the southern part of the strait, Tasnim News Agency reported.

The IRGC warned that passage through the mined route was “illegal”, adding that “oil companies will have to pay a heavier price if US mischief continues”.

Further reading:

• Iran oil exports via Hormuz dry up under US blockade
• Demand destruction: an indelicate forecast
• Shadow fleet sanctions relief unlikely to ease tanker rates

Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi told Iraq’s Al-Ikhbariya TV that the strait would remain closed until the US met Iran’s conditions, ruling out fresh negotiations on other issues.

Meanwhile, major general Turki Al-Malki, spokesperson for Yemen’s internationally recognised government, said the ballistic missile launcher used by the Houthis in an attack on Riyadh on Tuesday had been destroyed.

Another unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was neutralised in the Riyadh region.

The Houthis claimed on Monday to have struck Saudi airports and Aramco facilities. The Saudi government has not confirmed the claims.

Most Gulf stock exchanges fell on Tuesday.

Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index plunged 1.7 percent, dragged down by a more than 1 percent fall in Aramco shares.

Qatar’s stock index fell 0.4 percent to its lowest level in more than six years.

The Dubai market declined 0.3 percent, while Abu Dhabi’s index closed 0.5 percent higher. Bahrain, Oman and Kuwait all closed lower.