Published : 24 Oct 2026, 08:18 PM
Updated : 24 Oct 2026, 08:18 PM
Crude oil prices have risen for a third consecutive week, driven by fears that repeated attacks by Yemen-based Houthi militants on Saudi Arabia could disrupt energy supplies across West Asia.
Brent crude rose at least 1 percent to above $116.72 a barrel, its highest level since May, according to The New York Times on Saturday.
Prices gained 6.2 percent over the week, marking their biggest weekly increase in two months.
Crude oil last reached a peak of $111.30 a barrel in May.
The latest rise reflects fears that spreading military conflict across West Asia could block oil supplies from reaching international markets, the report said.
Crude prices have climbed nearly 60 percent since the United States and Israel launched joint strikes on Iran on Feb 28.
Prices are now at their highest level since May and close to their peak since the war began.
The US benchmark West Texas Intermediate, or WTI, also rose above $103 a barrel on Friday, up more than 50 percent since the conflict began.
The surge in oil prices weighed on European stock markets on Friday, according to The Irish Times.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.13 percent at the start of trading.
The index remained on track for a weekly decline after recording its steepest drop in three weeks on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Russia’s domestic fuel market showed signs of easing. Interfax, citing the Russian government, reported that petrol and diesel production had increased and fuel stocks were rising.
Dennis Kissler, senior vice-president of trading at US investment and brokerage firm BOK Financial Securities, said recent geopolitical tensions pointed to the prospect of more intense attacks on Iran, fuelling expectations of higher oil prices over the longer term.