U.S. and global oil climb above $100 a barrel

Crude oil prices were up more than 7% late Thursday as the intensified attacks between the U.S. and Iran created even more worries among traders about greater disruptions to already tight crude oil supplies. Prices of both Brent and WTI closed more than $100 a barrel. It was the biggest spike in attacks since the Iran war started at the end of February.

Brent crude settled up $6.42 or 6.34% at $107.63 a barrel, but prices were even higher later in the day and reached more than $108 a barrel with a 7% gain.

West Texas Intermediate crude rose $6.43 or 6.69% to close at $102.48 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It, too, rose even more after closing to reach $103 a barrel with a strong 7% increase.

The closings were the highest for benchmarks since May.

Iran-aligned Houthis seized control of Yemen’s port of Mocha on Thursday, posing a further threat to Red Sea traffic while Gulf traffic remains restricted through the Strait of Hormuz as tanker attacks in the region have intensified in recent days.

Natural gas prices made a gain of $0.018 or 0.64% to close at $2.840 MMBtu.

Only a handful of Oklahoma energy stocks managed to record gains on Thursday, with the majority finishing in the loss category. USA Rare Earth dropped 6% while Stardust Power rose nearly 8%.