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Brent Crude: Global oil prices climbed above $100 a barrel on Thursday. It's the first time crude has hit that mark since May.
The spike followed a claim from Yemen's Houthi militants that they struck two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea.
The reported attack added new pressure to an already volatile market. Fighting between the United States and Iran has continued in parallel.
Analysts say the combined disruptions could deepen what is already one of the largest oil shocks on record.
Brent crude, the global benchmark, briefly broke the $100 threshold Thursday morning. Prices then eased slightly to $99.70.
Even with that pullback, crude is up roughly 28% over the past month. That puts prices at their highest point since May 26.
Wall Street felt the impact almost immediately. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 375 points, a decline of 0.7%.
The S&P 500 also fell 0.7%. The Nasdaq, weighed down by tech stocks, slid 1.4%.
Rising crude prices are also hitting drivers directly. Gasoline makes up a major share of pump prices, and the pain is showing.
According to AAA, the national average for a gallon of gas now sits at $4.09. That's after prices crossed the $4 mark earlier in the week.
The current surge marks a sharp reversal from just last month. In June, oil prices had briefly dropped to their lowest level since before the Iran war began in late February.
That decline came on optimism after reports of a preliminary ceasefire agreement.
That optimism has since faded. Renewed large-scale fighting between the U.S. and Iran has put the agreement at serious risk.
The conflict has also disrupted shipping. Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has fallen sharply in recent weeks as tensions have escalated.
The strait is a critical corridor, handling roughly one-fifth of the world's oil supply.
Adding to the strain, the U.S. Navy resumed its blockade of the strait last week. That move reversed a key commitment made under the earlier U.S.-Iran agreement.
Officials said the decision came in response to Iran firing on oil tankers passing through the waterway.
Saudi Arabia has leaned on an alternate route to keep oil flowing. Crude is piped overland to the Red Sea, where it's loaded onto tankers for export.
Wednesday's reported Houthi attack now threatens that route as well, raising fears of further slowdowns in freight traffic through the region.
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