U.S. oil prices pass $92 per barrel as Iran-backed Houthi militants attack tankers in Red Sea

The American benchmark price of oil was over $92 per barrel on Thursday morning as Houthi militants in Yemen claimed to have attacked two Saudi tankers transiting the Red Sea. 

While West Texas Intermediate prices were in the low $90s per barrel, the global benchmark, Brent, passed $100 per barrel on Thursday. In the first week of July, following the signing of an interim peace agreement, U.S. prices dropped below $70 per barrel. 

The Houthis are one of several Iran-backed proxy groups in the Middle East and are a leading player in the ongoing Yemeni Civil War. 

President Donald Trump on Tuesday appeared unconcerned by the entry of the Houthis into the wider Iran war and their vow to blockade the entrance to the Red Sea.

“We've done that with the Houthis before, and we haven't heard from them in a while since we did what we did," he told reporters.