{"id":65263,"date":"2026-07-23T05:38:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T09:38:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/oil-prices-surge-past-90-as-red-sea-blockade-and-gulf-attacks-intensify\/65263\/"},"modified":"2026-07-23T05:38:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T09:38:14","slug":"oil-prices-surge-past-90-as-red-sea-blockade-and-gulf-attacks-intensify","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/oil-prices-surge-past-90-as-red-sea-blockade-and-gulf-attacks-intensify\/65263\/","title":{"rendered":"Oil Prices Surge Past $90 as Red Sea Blockade and Gulf Attacks Intensify"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>U.S. crude futures have surpassed $90 per barrel<\/strong> for the first time since June 11, driven by a rapid expansion of the geopolitical risk premium in the Middle East.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Two Chinese supertankers carrying 4 million barrels of Saudi crude<\/strong> are currently navigating the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, testing a newly declared Houthi naval blockade.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Bahrain sounded nationwide air raid sirens<\/strong> on Thursday following fresh Iranian drone and missile attacks, as regional instability threatens the headquarters of the U.S. Navy&#39;s Fifth Fleet.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Oman\u2019s Foreign Ministry has issued an urgent call for de-escalation<\/strong>, warning that threats to freedom of navigation in the Red Sea could lead to a wider regional conflict.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Amazon (<a href=\"\/stock\/AMZN\">AMZN<\/a>) has redesigned Alexa<\/strong> to reduce reliance on Anthropic\u2019s AI models, aiming to slash projected cloud costs that were on track to hit <strong>$1.7 billion<\/strong> by late 2026.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Energy Markets React to Maritime Blockades<\/h2>\n<p><strong>U.S. <a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/energy\/crude-oil\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"12\" title=\"Crude oil\">Crude Oil<\/a> (WTI)<\/strong> futures climbed past the <strong>$90 per barrel<\/strong> threshold on Thursday, marking a significant milestone in a rally that has seen prices rise over <strong>27%<\/strong> in the last month. The surge follows the Houthi movement\u2019s announcement of a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia, which has effectively threatened the Kingdom&#39;s primary alternative export route via the Red Sea port of Yanbu. <em>Analysts warn that if the southern Red Sea remains a &quot;no-go zone,&quot; global supply chains could face a massive shock as tankers are forced to reroute around the Cape of Good Hope.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>In a high-stakes maritime development, the Singapore-flagged <strong>Xin Long Yang<\/strong> and the Chinese-flagged <strong>Cosnew Lake<\/strong>\u2014both carrying Saudi crude\u2014are currently heading toward the <strong>Bab el-Mandeb Strait<\/strong>. These vessels, chartered by the trading arm of Sinopec (<a href=\"\/stock\/SHI\">SHI<\/a>), are reportedly carrying Chinese crews, a factor that may test whether Houthi forces will target ships linked to Beijing. This movement comes despite recent reports of a missile strike on the Saudi tanker <strong>Encelia<\/strong> near Jizan, which has already prompted several other vessels to reverse course.<\/p>\n<h2>Regional Security Deteriorates<\/h2>\n<p>The security situation in the Persian Gulf reached a new fever pitch as <strong>sirens sounded across Bahrain<\/strong> on Thursday. The Interior Ministry urged residents in the capital, Manama, to seek immediate shelter following reports of incoming Iranian drone and missile barrages. These attacks are widely viewed as a direct challenge to the U.S. military presence in the region, specifically targeting infrastructure and local security hubs.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Oman<\/strong> has stepped in to attempt a diplomatic intervention, with its Foreign Ministry emphasizing the &quot;absolute necessity&quot; of avoiding further escalation. Omani officials are reportedly coordinating with <strong>Saudi Arabia<\/strong> and the <strong>United Nations<\/strong> to resume a political roadmap for Yemen. <em>Diplomats fear that the collapse of the recent ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran has left a power vacuum that is rapidly being filled by tit-for-tat military strikes.<\/em><\/p>\n<h2>Amazon Moves to Contain AI Costs<\/h2>\n<p>Amid the regional turmoil, Amazon (<a href=\"\/stock\/AMZN\">AMZN<\/a>) is facing its own internal pressures regarding the high cost of its AI initiatives. Internal documents reveal that the company has redesigned <strong>Alexa<\/strong> to rely less on models from <strong>Anthropic<\/strong>, opting instead for in-house AI solutions. The move is a strategic effort to curb the ballooning costs of &quot;Alexa+,&quot; which was projected to cost nearly <strong>triple<\/strong> its previous annual budget due to the GPU-intensive nature of large language models.<\/p>\n<p>The redesign aims to quadruple the number of customer transactions each unit of computing capacity can support. This shift highlights a broader trend in the tech sector, where the focus is moving from pure AI capability to operational efficiency. Despite these cost-cutting measures, Amazon remains committed to its &quot;Moonraker&quot; project, which enables Alexa to handle multi-step complex workflows, though the company has already identified over <strong>$450 million<\/strong> in potential savings to meet its 2026 financial targets.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways U.S. crude futures have surpassed $90 per barrel for the first time since June 11, driven by a 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