Oil prices climbed back above $100 a barrel and stock markets fell after three more cargo vessels were hit in the Gulf.
News of further strikes on shipping helped to push Brent crude up by more than 9% on Thursday, before the price eased a little to $97.90.
The jump came despite the International Energy Agency saying on Wednesday that it will release a record 400 million barrels of oil in an attempt to curb the economic impact of the US-Israel war with Iran.
Investors are increasingly concerned that the global economy will take longer to recover if strikes to shipping and energy infrastructure in and around the Strait of Hormuz continue.
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