Oil Prices Hit Five Month High as Attacks Threaten Global Supply

LONDON: Oil prices climbed to a five month high on Thursday as attacks in Saudi Arabia and damage to tankers in the Strait of Hormuz renewed fears about the world’s crude supply.

Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose 3 percent to reach $112 a barrel for the first time since mid May. The surge followed a series of strikes by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who are aligned with Iran, on targets in Saudi Arabia. Two people were killed at a civilian airport in Dammam, and two more died in a drone attack on a Saudi oilfield.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said four vessels involved in oil transfers in the northern Gulf were hit and caught fire, while three more struck mines west of the strait. Tehran warned the United States that continued provocations could draw a wider response against its regional bases.

The United States has begun withdrawing some diplomats and family members from its missions in Saudi Arabia. Concern is growing that the conflict could escalate further, nearly eight months after the effective blockade of the strait first triggered fears of a major energy supply disruption.

Global equities wobbled on the news. The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 1 percent, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 2.7 percent and South Korea’s Kospi lost 3.5 percent.