press (Reuters; UKMTO advisory via Reuters), Oct 30
Brent rises to $117 and heads for a fourth monthly gain after a Hormuz limpet mine attack
The price of a barrel moved again on Friday, and this time it moved on a device the size of a suitcase.
Key facts
- Brent
- December contract up $2.26, or 2%, at $117.14 at 1236 GMT; January up $2.30 to $113.10 (Reuters)
- WTI
- Up $1.94, or 1.9%, to $103.94 (Reuters)
- Month
- Brent on course for about 13% in October, WTI about 15% (Reuters)
- Tanker
- Panama flagged Louise 1, per three maritime security sources; engine room fire, crew safe, 25 nautical miles northeast of Khasab (UKMTO, via Reuters)
We're still seeing a higher likelihood of an escalation and supply disruption.
Giovanni Staunovo, UBS, via Reuters
Note
Oil rose on Friday and was on track for a fourth straight monthly gain, Reuters reports. Brent crude for December, which expires on Friday, was up $2.26, or 2%, at $117.14 a barrel at 1236 GMT. The more active January contract gained $2.30 to $113.10, and US West Texas Intermediate rose $1.94 to $103.94. Brent was on course for a 13% rise in October and WTI for 15%.
A small boat attached two limpet mines to a tanker in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, starting an engine room fire and briefly disabling it, maritime sources told Reuters. UKMTO said the crew was safe and the vessel was continuing to its next port. Three security sources named it as the Panama flagged Louise 1. Sources told Reuters it was the first successful limpet mine strike there since the US war with Iran began in February.
Traders are bracing for a possible escalation after the US midterm elections, Reuters reports, even as Qatari mediators returned to Tehran on Friday.
Why it matters
A tanker can now be stopped by a small boat in the narrowest lane of the oil trade, and the market is pricing that.
Sources
- Reuters via Investing.com: Oil set for fourth monthly gain as Hormuz tanker attack highlights supply risks (Oct 30 2026)
- Reuters via Devdiscourse: Tanker in Strait of Hormuz hit by limpet mines, security sources say (Oct 30 2026)
Primary + secondary attribution as listed.
More: Armed conflict
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