Oil Jumps Back Toward $100 per Barrel as Iran Steps up Tanker Attacks

Oil prices have rebounded as Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz deepens, with analysts warning the energy shock could spill into fertilizer and food.

Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard claimed it had attacked the Safesea Vishnu, a ship flagged in the Marshall Islands, off Iraq, releasing a video that purports to show the moment the ship was attacked.

Oil prices jumped back toward the $100-per-barrel mark on March 12 despite a coordinated release of strategic reserves by the United States and its allies, as Iranian attacks on oil and transport infrastructure across the Middle East intensified fears of supply disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz and a prolonged regional conflict.

Brent futures climbed $5.95, or 6.47 percent, to $97.93 a barrel at 5:15 a.m. ET, having hit $100 per barrel in earlier trading, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up $5.25, or 6 percent, to $92.50.