Brent crude prices surged above $100 per barrel on Thursday as escalating tensions in the Middle East and fresh attacks on oil infrastructure overshadowed a record emergency reserve release by the International Energy Agency.
The rally marks a second straight session of gains, with traders increasingly focused on supply disruptions linked to the Iran conflict and the near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical oil shipping routes.
Market fears intensified after two oil tankers were targeted in Iraqi waters, prompting Iraqi authorities to halt operations at the country’s oil terminals and raising concerns about broader disruptions to exports from the Gulf region.
The attacks have highlighted the vulnerability of energy infrastructure across the Middle East, with several Gulf producers already curbing output as security risks escalate and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remains severely constrained. Roughly one-fifth of global oil supplies typically pass through the strategic waterway.
In response to the growing supply shock, the International Energy Agency and its member countries approved a coordinated release of about 400 million barrels of crude oil from strategic reserves, the largest such intervention in the agency’s history.
The emergency move is intended to stabilise markets and offset the loss of oil flows from the Gulf, but traders remain sceptical that the release will be enough to ease supply concerns if the conflict continues to disrupt exports.
Reflecting the scale of the shock, Brent crude has surged sharply in recent weeks. Over the past month, the benchmark has risen 42.08% and is 37.75% higher than the same period last year, based on trading in contracts for difference tracking the global benchmark.
Analysts say oil markets are now trading with a significant geopolitical risk premium, with price movements largely dependent on whether tensions ease and shipping through the Gulf resumes in the coming weeks.
