The price of oil shot up to 100 US dollars a barrel on Thursday for the first time in two months after fresh attacks in the Red Sea threatened to escalate the Middle East conflict further. The benchmark oil price has steadily risen in recent weeks since the US-Iran ceasefire deal broke down. As a result, the oil price continued to lift higher amid concerns that an intensifying conflict between US-Israeli and Iranian forces would disrupt oil supplies further. Economists at Oxford Economics said they think shipping disruption is now “increasingly likely” to continue, forecasts that oil prices will be above 85 dollars per barrel through the rest of the year. However, shares in oil majors Shell and BP both made gains, of around 1.4% and 2.6% respectively, due to the upward pressure on energy prices.