Oil prices gained more than $1 on Wednesday as escalating Middle East tensions fuelled fears of supply disruptions, while falling US crude and product inventories lent support, Reuters reported.

Source: Reuters

Brent crude futures rose $1.59, or 1.5%, to $110.38 per barrel as of 0350 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude gained $1.36, or 1.4%, to $99.18 per barrel. Brent had hit a five-month high in the previous session before easing.

Maritime risks are also rising. Ship tracker Kpler said at least 18 vessel attacks were recorded over the past two weeks, while LSEG analysts warned, according to Reuters, that Iran was targeting tankers well beyond the Strait of Hormuz, into the Gulf of Oman. Al Jazeera also reported oil prices rising again with little sign of the war on Iran ending, noting one-fifth of world oil and LNG supplies pass through Hormuz in peacetime.

Reuters reported, citing Iranian media outlet Nournews, that Iran told Pakistan's army chief there would be no talks with Washington until its demands were met, and that a Qatari delegation had arrived in Tehran — reports with no official confirmation. In Saudi Arabia, the Houthis claimed responsibility on Monday for attacks on a Saudi Aramco site in Yanbu, the Shaybah oilfield and Riyadh and Abha airports — a claim reported by Reuters.

For Punjabi and Indian workers in the Gulf and for families in Punjab, sustained oil above $110 — yaani roughly, every $10 rise in crude adds pressure on fuel, freight and remittance costs at home — keeps the cost of the war close to household budgets.