Morning Edition · Thursday, July 23, 2026Published at 1:16 AM EDT · New York

Oil Pushes Above 95 Dollars as Houthis Strike Saudi Tankers and US Bombs Iran for a 12th Day

Brent has recovered roughly 30 percent from its July lows, reversing the price decline that followed the earlier US-Iran truce, as shipowners avoid the Strait of Hormuz.

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Oil Pushes Above 95 Dollars as Houthis Strike Saudi Tankers and US Bombs Iran for a 12th Day

Crude oil rose further early Thursday after Yemen's Houthi movement said it struck two Saudi Arabian oil tankers, the Encelia and the Layla, in the Red Sea, and the United States carried out strikes on Iran for a twelfth consecutive day. The Israeli financial daily Globes reported Brent crude rising about 2.1 percent to above 96 dollars a barrel and West Texas Intermediate up about 1.7 percent near 87 dollars. The move followed Wednesday's close, when Brent settled near 94 dollars after trading above 95 dollars during the session.

The Houthis said the tanker attacks enforce a maritime embargo they declared against Saudi Arabia in retaliation for a blockade on Yemen and a strike on Sanaa's airport. A Saudi news agency confirmed damage to one of the two vessels.

The Financial Times reported that Brent rose on the news, and a separate FT military briefing noted the renewed American air campaign has not yet persuaded shipowners the waterway can be made safe. A US-led monitoring center in Bahrain said commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz fell to a three-week low.

Part of a tracked trend

Middle East War Premium Returns to Oil

Renewed US-Iran conflict reinstates a geopolitical risk premium in crude that reverses the earlier de-escalation slide, feeding energy-driven inflation and redistributing income toward oil producers each time brinkmanship flares.

Veracity: Corroborated

81/100

If true, who benefits: Non-Gulf crude exporters and traders positioned long, plus the Houthi movement's claim to hold leverage over Saudi shipping, while oil importers absorb the reinstated war premium.
The nuance: The Houthis said both tankers were set ablaze, but independent reporting and Saudi authorities confirm only a hit on the Encelia; the Layla's condition and the real scale of disruption remain unverified.

An open-source-intelligence read of how likely this story is true with its real nuance, not a judgment of any outlet. It assesses the claim, weighing independent and adversarial reporting. How we label confidence.

What this means

Every dollar of the reinstated war premium in crude transfers income from oil importers to producers and adds directly to headline inflation through fuel and freight. Energy-importing economies such as India, Japan, and much of Europe absorb the cost through wider trade deficits and weaker currencies, while central banks that were expecting to ease face a supply-driven price shock they cannot offset with rate cuts. The mechanism is physical, not monetary. Tankers rerouting or idling raises the delivered price of oil regardless of policy.

What to watch

Whether marine insurers raise Hormuz and Red Sea war-risk premiums further, which would lift delivered crude costs even if the spot price stabilizes.
The volume of commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a direct signal of how much physical supply is actually being withheld rather than priced in on the expectation of disruption.
Whether Saudi Arabia and other Gulf producers reroute cargoes or invoke spare capacity, which would show how durable the premium is.

Observations to monitor, not financial advice.

4 sources

Synthesized from: Financial Times · Globes (Hebrew) · Euronews · Financial Times (Hormuz briefing)