OIL CLIMBS AFTER A TANKER IS HIT DEEP IN THE GULF, AS A STORM SHUTS IN US OFFSHORE OUTPUT

A tanker was struck by “multiple projectiles” about 94 kilometers (51 nautical miles) north of Qatar’s Madinat ash Shamal on Wednesday, with casualties reported, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations agency. Bloomberg called it the first attack that deep in the Persian Gulf in weeks, and TradeWinds said it was the first attack on shipping outside the Strait of Hormuz since Iranian attacks resumed on Sept. 28.

Data firm Kpler counted a record 10 tankers struck in the strait from Sept. 28 to Oct. 4, against a previous weekly high of six, and only seven commodity vessels crossed on Tuesday, the fewest since July 23. Brent crude rose above $101 a barrel in early Asian trading Thursday, Reuters reported, and kept climbing later in the morning, according to CNN.

At home, Chevron began shutting in production at four company-operated Gulf of America facilities and evacuating staff ahead of storm Isaias, and Shell is also curtailing output.