# As renewed strikes between the US and Iran continue to escalate, oil prices hit one-thousand-679-rand-39-cents a barrel for the first time since May yesterday. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose more than six-percent. Prices spiked after the Houthi militants based in Yemen struck two Saudi Arabian oil tankers in the Red Sea, days after the group announced a naval blockade on Saudi ships. This is a key export route that Riyadh has re-routed millions of barrels of its oil exports from the Strait of Hormuz.
Global oil prices rose sharply, amidst fears of widening conflict in the Middle East