Shares skid, oil surges again as Iran attacks Gulf shipping

Shares fell in ​Asia on Thursday as oil prices jumped on reports that more ships had been struck in the Strait of Hormuz and ‌in Iraqi waters, fuelling inflation and pushing borrowing costs higher worldwide. US crude rose 7.5% to $93.80 a barrel, extending a rise of more than 4% overnight. Brent crude futures jumped 7.7% to $99.03 a barrel. That was despite plans from the International Energy Agency to release 400 million barrels of oil from its reserves, the largest such move in its ​history. The US said it would release 172 million barrels of oil from next week, as part of the IEA plan. Two fuel ​tankers in Iraqi waters had been struck by explosive-laden Iranian boats, Iraqi security officials said early on Thursday, while ⁠an Iraqi official told state media that oil ports “have completely stopped operations.” “Multiple tankers loaded with Iraqi crude are now reported burning in the Persian ​Gulf off the coast of Basra, engulfed in flames and leaking burning oil into the water,” said Tony Sycamore, analyst at IG.