Oil Prices Climb as Hormuz Reopening Hopes Fade Amid New Attacks

Brent crude rose above $89 a barrel after Houthi missile attacks killed six people on a vessel in the Bab al-Mandeb strait and US forces disabled a cargo ship breaching Washington's blockade of Iranian ports, undercutting hopes Oman-Iran talks would soon reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Traffic through the strait, once carrying a fifth of global oil supply, remains near a tenth of pre-war levels months after the US-Israel war on Iran, with US officials not expecting normal production until 2027. This shows the Israel-Iran conflict is producing lasting regional economic strain rather than a swift return to stability.