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Brent tops $100 as Red Sea attacks and Black Sea disruptions crimp oil flows
Houthis strikes are forcing oil tankers to U-turn and reroute, while Kazakhstan has suspended most exports after Ukrainian drone attacks targeting the Novorossiysk port.
Oil market conditions have tightened sharply as shipping disruptions hit two major chokepoints, pushing Brent crude above $100 per barrel, according to Yahoo Finance and OilPrice. The latest pressure comes as Yemen's Houthis strike tankers in the Red Sea, after a ceasefire-linked improvement in the Strait of Hormuz narrative quickly faded.
Within days of earlier warnings about a looming crude glut, tanker traffic has shifted. Houthis attacks in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait are leading vessels bound for the Red Sea to reverse course and take longer, higher-cost alternative routes, while the Strait of Hormuz volume has fallen from about 20 million barrels per day on average to a much smaller trickle.
Separately, Ukrainian drone strikes on the Caspian Pipeline System's terminus on the Black Sea have forced Kazakhstan to suspend most oil exports. The attacks targeted the Novorossiysk port, a key departure point for Kazakh oil to world markets, and Bloomberg reported tanker operators are growing nervous about sending vessels there amid additional strikes at the port.
The knock-on effects are extending beyond crude. The article notes the war-related pressure on Russian refineries has contributed to a temporary ban on diesel exports, as global fuel inventories face strain and refined petroleum products have fewer mitigation options than crude.
Latest closeWTI crude $90.47 ▼1.9%|Brent $98.38 ▼2.3%