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Oil Prices Surge Following Attacks on Saudi Tankers in Strait of Hormuz

7 sources across 4 countries · Brazil · United Kingdom · South Korea · United States

Who reported this

  • UOL Brazil · Centre-left · Grupo Folha
  • CNN Brasil Brazil · Centre · Rubens Menin (MRV)
  • Folha de S.Paulo Brazil · Centre · Grupo Folha (Frias family)
  • Financial Times United Kingdom · Centre · Nikkei Inc.
  • Reuters United Kingdom · Centre · Thomson Reuters Corporation
  • The Korea Herald South Korea · Centre-right · Herald Corporation (Yeongpoong Group)
  • Al-Monitor United States · Centre · Jamal Daniel

What the colours mean

  • Left
  • Centre-left
  • Centre
  • Centre-right
  • Right
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Two supertankers carrying Saudi crude oil were struck by unknown projectiles late Monday while transiting the Strait of Hormuz. According to shipping intelligence firms Marisks and Kpler, the Saudi Arabian flagged vessel Sidr and the Liberian flagged vessel Senegal Prosperity were hit within minutes of each other near Khasab, Oman. Each ship was carrying 2 million barrels of oil. All crew members were reported safe. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency also reported three projectiles striking a tanker in the same location. Iranian media reported separately that a Saudi oil tanker was stopped in the southern corridor of the strait.

Global oil prices rose on Tuesday following the attacks. The Brent crude reference reached a peak increase of 5.03 percent at 92.82 US dollars per barrel, while the US WTI crude rose over 2 percent. Market analysts and reports indicate that prices were also influenced by threats from US President Donald Trump to launch further strikes against Iran, following the first exchanges of fire since late July. This follows a period of tension where US and Iranian blockades have restricted energy exports from the Gulf, a waterway that previously handled 20 percent of global oil and gas production.

In the United States, President Trump scheduled a meeting at the White House with leaders from major oil companies, including Chevron and Marathon Petroleum, to discuss refining capacity and fuel prices. This meeting comes as the US faces a cost of living crisis with gasoline prices remaining above 4 US dollars per gallon. While the White House stated the goal is to reduce prices for Americans, some analysts noted that refineries are already operating at near maximum capacity, leaving the market vulnerable to further disruptions.

How each side framed it

Centre-left
Highlighted the record profits of refineries and the political pressure regarding the cost of living crisis.
Centre
Focused on the economic impact, detailing specific oil price fluctuations and the domestic political pressure on the US administration.
Centre-right
Emphasized the military escalation, the specific details of the projectile attacks, and the failure of diplomatic mediation efforts.

Sources

100% of the statements in this article were traced back to the source articles listed above.