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Global crude benchmarks advanced approximately 2% on Tuesday to settle at five-week highs, driven by intensifying military exchanges between the US and Iran alongside expanding threats to key maritime shipping logistics.

The international Brent contract rose $1.79 (2.00%) to settle at $91.01 a barrel, its highest close since June 10 and its seventh consecutive session in technically overbought territory. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) gained $1.68 (2.02%) to finish at $84.91 a barrel, marking its highest settlement since June 11.

Upward pricing momentum built after US forces executed overnight strikes on targets in southern and western Iran, triggering retaliatory Iranian attacks against US sites in Bahrain, Kuwait, and Jordan, as well as a direct strike on a tanker in the Strait of Hormuz. Logistics risks intensified further as Yemen's Houthis declared a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, prompting two Asia-bound tankers carrying Saudi crude to reverse course in the Red Sea, though operations at Saudi Arabia's Yanbu port were reported normal.

Compounding regional supply anxieties, the Caspian Pipeline Consortium halted Kazakh crude receipts following drone strikes on tankers at its Black Sea terminal. Market attention now turns to upcoming US storage data, with industry analysts forecasting a 0.5 million-barrel crude stockpile draw for the week ended July 17.

Written by: Aiman Haikal