Brent crude futures crossed the $100 threshold on Wednesday, following a wave of attacks in the Middle East, compounding sharp drops in OPEC production and depleted refined product inventories.
Front-month West Texas Intermediate futures gained 3% to $95.81 per barrel, while Brent futures climbed 2.9% to $100.82/bbl.
"Crude oil jumped after reports of further attacks by Houthis. The Iranian-backed group said it had targeted Saudi Arabia's 400kb/d refinery and other facilities that service the domestic market," ANZ analysts said.
The US Centcom said in a post on X that it destroyed five Iranian tankers on Tuesday, in response to the IRGC targeting a US Navy ship.
This prompted retaliatory Iranian missile launches toward Jordan, warnings to shipping near Kuwait and Bahrain, and Houthi strikes on Saudi energy infrastructure.
Qatar denounced Iran's ballistic missile barrage directed at Jordan, with the Foreign Ministry stating on X that it condemns the renewal of attacks as a violation of sovereignty and international law.
Meanwhile, Iran's Foreign Ministry reportedly defended its actions, stating that its armed forces exercised their right to legitimate defense.
Compounding these supply shocks, OPEC crude production reportedly fell by 900,000 barrels per day last month to 19.9 million barrels per day.
This decline was driven primarily by a 1.1 million barrels per day slump in Saudi output as security threats forced cuts across primary and backup export routes.