Oil prices climbed on Wednesday after two vessels were struck in the Strait of Hormuz and Iranian officials told Reuters they were deploying new tactics to target ships, as Tehran seeks to keep oil prices high and influence the US midterm elections.
Brent crude futures rose 63 cents, or 0.6%, to $106.32 a barrel by 0345 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained 66 cents, or 0.7%, to $94.80 a barrel.
Both contracts rose more than $1 in earlier trade before paring some gains.
The Iranian officials declined to provide details of the new strategy, but one said that Iran had started using different offensive tactics against vessels it considered in violation of its restrictions about 10 days ago, adding that this had led to an increase in attacks on such ships.
A container ship and a tanker were hit by unknown projectiles within the Strait of Hormuz, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said on Tuesday.
