Oil price today: Brent near $117 after Hormuz tanker attack, what it means for Pakistan

Brent crude, the world’s main oil benchmark, rose to around $117 a barrel on Friday, 30 October, after a tanker caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz and Iran claimed several more ships had hit mines. For Pakistan, which buys almost all its oil from abroad and now changes pump prices every day, that rise reaches the petrol station within days.

What happened in the Strait of Hormuz?

The UK Maritime Trade Operations agency (UKMTO), which tracks attacks on shipping, said an outbound tanker caught fire on Thursday about 25 nautical miles northeast of Khasab in Oman. A small boat had attached two explosive devices to its hull above the waterline, and the blast started a fire in the engine room. The ship has been named as the Panama-flagged Louise 1.

UKMTO said the fire was put out, the crew is safe, there is no environmental damage and the ship is continuing to its next port. Nobody has claimed the attack.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) went further. They claimed four tankers struck mines in the strait while using what Iran calls “unauthorised routes”. IRGC spokesman Hossein Mohebi said the situation was being decided “not on social media and in America’s media war rooms”. US Central Command disputed this, saying American forces had already cleared the main shipping lanes of mines.

Oman’s navy separately said it rescued 25 crew members from a vessel that was “targeted” about 196 km off its Musandam governorate.

How high has oil gone?

Brent touched about $117 a barrel on Friday and is heading for its fourth monthly rise in a row. Prices are being pulled both ways: every attack pushes them up, while each sign of a US-Iran deal, including Qatari mediators returning to Tehran this week, pulls them back. The United States has also been releasing oil from its emergency reserve to calm the market.

What it means for petrol and diesel in Pakistan

Pakistan now sets fuel prices daily, based on a seven-day average of world prices, so a jump in Brent is not a far-off headline. Today petrol costs Rs377.91 a litre and diesel Rs400.67, the first time diesel has crossed Rs400 (our report on today’s rates).

If oil stays near $117, the seven-day average keeps rising and pump prices are likely to follow. A higher oil bill also means more dollars leaving the country, which puts pressure on the rupee and on inflation, which the State Bank is already fighting after raising its policy rate to 12% this week.

There is one small cushion. Gold fell in Pakistan today as investors bet on high interest rates worldwide, and the same mood can cool oil if the diplomacy holds.

What to watch next

The next moves to watch are Qatar’s talks in Tehran, whether more ships are hit this weekend, and OGRA’s daily price notice, which comes out a day ahead. This is information on market prices, not investment advice.