Oil Prices Jump as Hormuz Attacks and Hurricane Isaias Threaten Supply

Brent crude climbed nearly 4% to $104.18 a barrel early Thursday as tanker attacks near the Strait of Hormuz and Hurricane Isaias raised fresh concerns about global oil supplies.

West Texas Intermediate crude rose 3.9% to $91.70 at about 1:17 a.m. ET (05:17 UTC). Vessel traffic through the strait fell to seven commodity ships on Oct. 6, while crude flows declined 27% from the previous wartime high to at least 10.1 million barrels per day.

The storm also disrupted U.S. offshore production. Eight of 371 manned Gulf platforms had been evacuated by 11 a.m. CDT (noon ET; 16:00 UTC) Wednesday, and operator-reported shutdowns totaled 511,619 barrels per day, or 25.08% of current regional production.

U.S. commercial crude inventories stood at 424.134 million barrels on Oct. 2, down about 3.2 million barrels from the prior week. Hurricane Isaias was forecast to reach the northern Gulf Coast late Friday or early Saturday, potentially extending pressure on offshore production and nearby refining infrastructure.