Oil Prices On July 22: International crude oil prices inched higher in early trading on Wednesday as fears of further supply disruptions intensified after US forces said it began striking Iranian military targets for the 11th straight night and Kuwait reported attacks by Iranian drones. Brent crude futures rose 0.55%, or 50 cents, to $91.51 per barrel after markets opened on Wednesday, while US West Texas Intermediate crude climbed 0.36%, or 30 cents, to $84.64 in low volume trading.
This comes after oil settled at a five-week high on Tuesday after US forces struck targets in southern and western Iran, while Iran attacked US facilities in Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan. The US military said it began its latest strikes on Iran late on Tuesday in the United States, or early Wednesday in Iran. The US attacks came after the Kuwaiti army said its air defences were intercepting Iranian drones on Wednesday.
The constant trading of strikes have raised fears of further disruptions to global energy supplies after Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis opened a new front in the Iran war by threatening to target vessels carrying Saudi oil in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and announcing a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia. The heightened risks have prompted shipowners to offer hefty incentives to crews willing to sail through the region.
The Bab el-Mandeb waterway at the southern entrance to the Red Sea has become an increasingly important route for Saudi crude exports as traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has fallen sharply since a ceasefire between the United States and Iran collapsed earlier this month. Separately, Pete Hegseth, the US defense secretary had announced on Tuesday that the country's war in Iran has cost it $37.5 billion so far, an increase of nearly $8 billion since the last public estimate.
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