Saudi oil tanker attacked and caught fire, Brent oil regains $100 mark after two months
Late on Thursday night, Beijing time, as the news of the Houthi armed forces in Yemen attacking a Saudi oil tanker was officially confirmed by Saudi Arabia, international oil prices continued to rise, with Brent crude oil futures breaking through the integer mark of US$100 per barrel for the first time since May 22. (Daily chart of Brent oil, source: TradingView) It is not difficult to see from the K-line chart that the conflict between the United States and Iran over "who is the master of the Strait of Hormuz" has escalated in the past two weeks.
Late on Thursday night, Beijing time, as the news of the Houthi armed forces in Yemen attacking a Saudi oil tanker was officially confirmed by Saudi Arabia, international oil prices continued to rise, with Brent crude oil futures breaking through the integer mark of US$100 per barrel for the first time since May 22. (Brent oil daily chart, source: TradingView) It is not difficult to see from the K-line chart that the conflict between the United States and Iran over "who is the master of the Strait of Hormuz" has escalated in the past two weeks. News earlier today showed that the Houthi armed forces in Yemen said they used multiple ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones to attack the Saudi oil tankers "Enselia" and "Leila" that violated the organization's maritime embargo. Later, the official Saudi Press Agency confirmed that the oil tanker "Enselia" was attacked while sailing in the Red Sea. The attack caused a fire on the bow of the ship. However, Saudi officials have not yet confirmed the status of the Leila. This is also the first attack since the Houthi armed forces announced a "maritime embargo" on Saudi Arabia this week, which means that two key exports of Middle East oil-the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait have entered a state of war. The Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the southern end of the Red Sea has been a lifeline for oil exports since the conflict with Iran began. Hours before the Saudi oil tanker was attacked and set on fire, U.S. President Trump had just stepped up his threat of war against Iran, saying that "from now on, whenever Iran attacks a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, whether with missiles, rockets, drones or any other weapon, the United States will bomb and destroy an Iranian bridge or a power plant." Iran responded tit-for-tat, saying that if the United States carried out these strikes, it would retaliate against U.S.-linked infrastructure and energy assets across the region. Also affected by the latest situation in the Red Sea and rising oil prices, the U.S. 10-year Treasury bond yield exceeded the 4.7% mark on Thursday for the first time since January 2025; spot gold fell nearly 2%, with the latest quote at nearly $4,050 per ounce; spot silver fell by more than 3%, falling below the $58 mark. (Daily chart of U.S. 10-year Treasury bond yields, source: TradingView) There are various signs that as diplomatic dialogue is replaced by harsh words, the US-Iran conflict is approaching a more dangerous stage. The latest news shows that the United States has recently sent additional troops and medical personnel to the Middle East so that Trump can have stronger military options when needed. Special operations forces have been deployed to the region from U.S. bases over the past week, multiple fighter squadrons have been on standby across the Middle East, and bombers based at U.S. and British bases are on high alert. At the same time, more than 150 medical personnel have recently arrived at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, which is the main location for the treatment of US troops injured in combat in the Middle East.