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Oil prices continued their surge on Thursday, with Brent crude futures reaching $105 a barrel for the first time since May, while Qatar's latest LNG delivery did not ease gas prices, which also hovered near their highest level since December 2022.
Brent was up 4% at $105.3 a barrel by 1:15 p.m. GMT, while West Texas Intermediate futures gained 4.2%, pushing U.S. crude above $100 for the first time since May. European natural gas futures at the Dutch TTF Hub rose 3.9% to €82.3 ($95.5) per megawatt-hour.
The Strait of Hormuz remains at the center of supply concerns after Iran said it attacked 10 ships near the waterway on Wednesday, following the U.S. sinking of five Iranian oil tankers. The incidents mark the biggest wave of attacks on shipping since the six-month-old war began, with at least one seafarer reported killed and another missing.
Commercial traffic through the strait has fallen sharply following the attacks. Six commodity vessels crossed on Sept. 8, down from nine the previous day and below the recent 10-day average of about 12, according to MarineTraffic data.
Meanwhile, Geo News reported that the Al Marrouna, a Qatar-origin LNG carrier carrying 81,936 metric tons, crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Sept. 7 and docked at Karachi's Port Qasim on the morning of Sept. 10.
Pressure is also building around the Red Sea, which has become a key waterway for Saudi Arabia since the start of the Iran conflict to keep oil exports moving as the Strait of Hormuz faces growing disruption.
Iran-aligned Houthis seized control of Yemen's port of Mocha on Thursday and are moving closer to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a key chokepoint linking the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden. Reuters reported that the group is pushing toward Dhubab and the island of Perim, positions that could give it greater leverage over the maritime gateway.
The advance follows the Houthis' declaration of a maritime blockade against Saudi Arabia in July, alongside stepped-up attacks on the kingdom and vessels using the area, which threatens to curb Saudi oil exports through the Red Sea.
OPEC cut its forecast for global oil demand growth in 2026 to 380,000 barrels per day (bpd) from 580,000 bpd in its fifth consecutive downward revision.
The group expects total demand to reach 105.8 million bpd, with consumption in non-OECD countries rising by 490,000 bpd to 59.7 million bpd, while OECD demand is forecast to fall by 110,000 bpd to 46.1 million bpd.
OPEC’s own figures show crude production rising by 346,000 bpd in August to 24.081 million bpd, led by Iraq, where output jumped 664,000 bpd to 3.4 million bpd. Iran recorded the sharpest decline, with production falling by 399,000 bpd to 2.1 million bpd, while Saudi Arabia cut output by 75,000 bpd.
Across the broader OPEC+ group, crude output increased by 297,000 bpd to 38.1 million bpd in August.
The production increase followed a series of monthly adjustments by seven OPEC+ members—Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria and Oman—which agreed to add 188,000 bpd in September as part of the gradual rollback of voluntary cuts.
On Sept. 6, the seven countries decided to keep their September required production level unchanged for October, effectively pausing another increase as they continue to assess market conditions.
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