RoydadNaft –  Brent crude oil futures rose $4.52 (4.80%) to $98.59 per barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained $3.39 (3.90%) to $90.22 per barrel.

According to Roydad Naft, oil prices on Thursday reached their highest level in more than a month and extended gains for a fifth consecutive day. Yemen announced it had attacked two Saudi oil tankers, heightening concerns that disruptions to global oil supplies could spread beyond the Strait of Hormuz.

Brent crude futures settled $4.52, or 4.80%, higher at $98.59 a barrel — the highest level since June 3. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose $3.39, or 3.90%, to $90.22 a barrel, marking its highest level since June 11.

Ahmad Asiri, research strategist at Pepperstone, said: “The short-term outlook for crude oil remains supportive as markets price in the worrying possibility of supply disruption at a second chokepoint.”

In addition to the renewed confrontation over control of the Strait of Hormuz, Yemen has opened a new front by targeting vessels carrying Saudi oil in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in an effort to impose a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia. Iran-aligned Yemeni forces said on Thursday that they had attacked two Saudi oil tankers as part of the maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia.

Shipping data showed two Chinese supertankers carrying a combined 4 million barrels of Saudi crude were exiting the Red Sea through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait on Thursday, while a Saudi vessel had come under attack in the area.

Goldman Sachs said oil flows through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait averaged nearly 9 million barrels per day last month, of which nearly 4 million barrels per day may be difficult to reroute if multiple chokepoints in the region are blocked.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said an oil tanker caught fire after an explosion while attempting to navigate a mined route in the southern section of the Strait of Hormuz near the Omani coast, and that two other tankers had retreated. The IRGC stated that the Strait of Hormuz is under its control and is “completely closed,” and that no oil tanker will be allowed to enter or exit without coordination with Iran as long as U.S. actions in the region continue.

The U.S. military said it had completed a twelfth consecutive night of strikes on Iran. This came hours after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened that every time Iran fires on a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, he would destroy one of Iran’s bridges or power plants.

Goldman Sachs forecasts that oil prices will retain the bulk of their recent gains through July and August as global inventories continue to decline. The trend is supported by reduced Middle East production, seasonal summer travel demand, and a sharp drop in strategic petroleum reserve releases.

Meanwhile, European diesel refining margins hit a record $66.25 per barrel on July 17, driven by Russia’s ban on diesel exports following repeated Ukrainian attacks on its refineries and concerns over further Middle East supply disruptions. The margin was trading at $65.30 per barrel on Thursday.