Oil prices hit $100 for the first time since May

Oil prices hit $100 a barrel for the first time since May as the escalating conflict in the Middle East reignited fears over global energy supplies.

Brent crude – the global benchmark for oil prices – rose more than 5% on Thursday after several days of increases as the US stepped up military strikes against Iran.

Prices spiked after Houthi militia attacked oil tankers in the Red Sea, threatening a key export route that Saudi Arabia has used to bypass the Strait of Hormuz.

Gas prices have also risen steadily over the past month, with the benchmark UK gas price currently at around 150 per therm, up from around 98p per therm on 26 June.

On Thursday, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said three tankers had abandoned an attempt to pass through Hormuz after an explosion aboard one of them caused it to catch fire.

A temporary ceasefire between the US and Iran has failed and this week US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the people in charge in Iran were “not ready to make a deal”.