$110 OIL: Iran and Houthis Escalate Energy War — Two Ships Sunk in Hormuz, Saudi Arabia Intercepting Missiles
Global oil prices surged to $110 a barrel on Friday — the highest since May — after Iran and its Houthi allies dramatically escalated their assault on the world’s energy lifelines, sinking two commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz and launching missile and drone barrages at Saudi Arabia.
Brent crude futures touched $110 during Friday trading before settling at $109.86, up 3.7%. US West Texas Intermediate rose 3.5% to $101.41 a barrel, capping a week in which WTI gained more than 10%.
In the most dramatic escalation of maritime attacks since the US-Iran war began in February, two cargo ships were struck by unknown projectiles and sank in or near the Strait of Hormuz this week — only the second and third sinkings since the conflict started, according to UN shipping agency data.
The Singapore-flagged container ship GFS Pride was hit Tuesday by an unidentified projectile while transiting the strait, caught fire, and sank the next day. All 21 crew members were safely evacuated, Singapore’s maritime authority confirmed. The Antigua-and-Barbuda-flagged Cape Dao also sank after being struck — it had been hit by projectiles on September 23, killing one Indian crew member.
At least nine tankers and cargo ships have come under attack in the waterway since Sunday, maritime officials say, as Iran seeks to disrupt oil exports through the strait that carries roughly a fifth of the world’s petroleum.
Meanwhile, the Saudi-led coalition said Friday it had intercepted a ballistic missile headed for Yanbu — the Red Sea city that is Saudi Arabia’s key oil-export hub, allowing shipments to bypass Hormuz entirely. Coalition spokesman Turki al-Malki said forces also destroyed two cruise missiles over the Red Sea and three drones over Riyadh and southern regions.
The strikes came as missiles hit Aden International Airport in Yemen on Friday, in what the local security office called the second such attack in less than a week.
On Thursday, the UN Security Council “condemned in the strongest terms” the continued Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, as well as threats against commercial shipping in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab strait.
The timing is no accident. Attacks on shipping have ramped up significantly since the end of September, and the energy shock lands just weeks before the November 3 US midterm elections, with gasoline prices and the cost of living top of mind for voters.
With Hormuz shipments running at roughly 70% of their pre-war average and Ukraine pledging renewed strikes on Russian refineries after the US-brokered energy ceasefire collapsed, the world’s oil routes face simultaneous supply disruptions on three fronts — and American drivers are about to feel it at the pump.
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