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Prices spiked as attacks on oil tankers escalated in the Middle East.

Oil prices have increased by four percent, with benchmark Brent crude hitting $105 a barrel after the biggest rise in attacks on shipping since the Iran war began spurred trader concerns about further supply disruptions.

Brent crude futures were up $4.05, or four percent, at $105.26 a barrel by 1215 GMT on Thursday. United States oil topped $100 a barrel for the first time since May, as West Texas Intermediate crude futures CLc1 rose $3.99, or 4.15 percent, to $100.04.

Brent prices have surged by more than 30 percent from lows touched in early August, as a permanent agreement between the US and Iran to cease attacks never materialised and fighting resumed.

Iran-aligned Houthis seized control of Yemen’s port of Mocha on Thursday, further threatening Red Sea traffic, while Gulf traffic remains restricted through the Strait of Hormuz as tanker attacks in the region have intensified in recent days.

“The recent run-up in prices lays bare the market’s approach: this conflict will last longer than anticipated even a month ago, let alone at the beginning of the summer. If oil supply and exports are diminished, the oil balance remains tight and prices remain elevated,” PVM analyst John Evans said.

Iran said it had attacked 10 ships near the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, after the US hit five Iranian oil tankers. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it would escalate its response to any further attacks.

While fears of prolonged and more severe supply disruptions in the Gulf have lifted Brent above $100, analysts say the durability of the rally will hinge on China.

Chinese demand

China, the world’s largest crude importer, has stepped up purchases in recent weeks after months of subdued demand, boosting physical crude markets, ING analysts said in a note.

If Chinese buying continues to recover, it could amplify the impact of any supply disruptions and drive prices higher, while a pullback in imports could temper market gains, ING said.

“For months, the bearish case rested on soft Chinese demand,” said David Jorbenaze, global oil market lead at commodities information provider, ICIS.

Rising oil prices have worsened worries about inflation and cranked up pressure within the bond market, helping to lower stocks again on Wall Street.

The S&P 500 fell 0.6 percent and is on track for a fourth straight loss.

The increase in oil prices has pushed the price for a gallon of regular petrol to an average of nearly $4.28 across the US, according to the American Automobile Association. That is not only costing more at the pump but also through higher prices for all kinds of products that move by truck to store shelves.

Following Thursday’s reports, traders are betting on a close to 70 percent chance the Fed will raise the federal funds rate at its meeting next week. That’s up from the 61 percent probability seen the day before, according to data from CME Group. That’s also despite President Donald Trump’s consistent lobbying for interest rates to go lower rather than higher.

The work by Oxford University, which is published in the International Journal of Cancer, defines any drink at 65 degrees Celsuis or above as “very hot” and posing a potential risk.

Consuming six or more hot drinks per day also raises the risk, according to data from 977,282 middle-aged men and women.

Although adding milk can cool drinks down slightly, a milky tea or coffee may still be far too hot, researchers say.

Tea made immediately after a kettle is fully boiled is touching boiling point, which is 100 degrees C (212 degrees F). Once poured into a cup, that lowers to around 90 or 95 degrees C.

The advice is to wait a few minutes before drinking so the beverage cools to a safer temperature.

Cancer Research UK says it’s difficult to put an exact time on how long a hot drink should be left to cool.

“But if you’re worried, we’d suggest just waiting until it’s comfortable to drink rather than drinking it while it’s still very hot,” the charity said.

Lead researcher Dr Keren Papier said research in South America – where many people drink a very hot herbal beverage called mate – had already shown a similar link between hot drinks and oesophageal cancer.

But she said: “More research is now needed to identify the exact drink temperatures linked to this increased risk.”

A separate study, external of 118 young adults who did multiple tastings of different black coffees found most only deemed the drinks to be too hot if the temperature was 70 degrees C or above.

According to one takeaway coffee cup manufacturer, the ideal temperature for hot coffee on the go is between 49 and 60 degrees C.

Should a barista want the coffee to stay hotter for longer – if a customer requests extra hot – it can be served at over 82 degrees C, says MTPak Coffee.

Vape pens and other disposable e-cigarettes soon could be illegal in California.

On Wednesday, the state assembly approved Assembly Bill 762, which, if signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, will make the battery-powered disposable devices illegal to manufacture, distribute or sell in the state. The bill passed the senate Tuesday.

“We are hopeful the Governor will recognize the threat these devices pose to our communities and that the costs of cleaning up the mess these devices leave are borne by ratepayers,” the bill’s sponsor, Assemblywoman Jacqui Irwin (D-Thousand Oaks), said in a press release.

The bill targets single-use, battery-embedded electronic cigarettes that contain tobacco products. Cannabis devices are exempt. To be legal under the new law, a vape device must be both refillable (or use replaceable pods) and have a rechargeable battery. Otherwise they couldn’t be sold after Jan. 1, 2028.

Vapes have become a trash plague on streets and beaches and in parks where they leak toxic chemicals such as lead, lithium, cobalt, cadmium, chromium, copper, zinc and nickel as well as microplastics and battery acid.

According to consumer advocacy group CalPIRG, 500,000 disposable vapes are thrown away every day in the U.S. That’s almost 5.8 devices per second.

Vapes use a small, lithium battery to heat liquids such as nicotine for users to inhale. Disposable vapes can be used only a few times before they become useless and have to be discarded.

The vaping industry says the technology saves lives and the cartridges are not nearly as bad a blight as cigarette butts.

Neither the Vapor Technology Assn., the largest industry trade group, nor the American Vapor Manufacturers, an industry group representing independent vapor manufacturers, could be reached for comment.

However, in comments last spring, a spokesman for the manufacturers, Jim McCarthy, said: “Vaping is the single most popular and effective method for Americans to quit smoking cigarettes, and it’s an absolute outrage that states like California are trying to deprive ordinary people of that life-saving product, and no state has driven more people back to combustible cigarettes than California has.”

Research shows while vaping helps more people stop smoking than conventional methods like patches or gum, it is dangerous for youths, young adults and people who don’t already smoke, since the long-term effects remain unknown. The devices deliver addictive nicotine, and the vapors can cause lung and throat irritation. Long-term use is linked to blood vessel and cardiovascular impairment.

In 2021, researchers at the Yale School of Public Health examined the consequences of San Francisco’s 2018 ban on flavored vapes. They found that after the ban took effect, the odds of underage high school students smoking conventional cigarettes more than doubled compared to school districts without a ban.

The study looked at all flavored tobacco products, including menthol cigarettes and reusable e-cigarettes.

But California’s Department of Public Health does not consider vape a positive quit-smoking method and treats e-cigarettes as a severe public health threat. The department actively works to counter the normalization of vaping, particularly among youth, and has campaigned to discourage young people from taking it up.

State health officials have said they are concerned that the nicotine in modern vape devices is highly addictive and harms adolescent brain development, affecting learning, memory and attention.

E-cigarettes also are a growing cause of fires in waste facilities. Industry analysts have coined the term “the vape effect” to describe this rise in fires, estimating billions of dollars in cumulative damages to the global waste management infrastructure.

When disposable vape cartridges are put in garbage or recycling bins, they can be crushed by garbage trucks and sorting equipment at waste facilities. This can puncture the batteries, causing them to short-circuit, overheat and potentially ignite surrounding materials.

The National Waste & Recycling Assn. (NWRA) and Resource Recycling Systems estimate more than 5,000 fires occur annually at recycling facilities, driven heavily by lithium-ion batteries.

“We don’t let other industries design products with embedded fire hazards and walk away when they fail. Vape companies shouldn’t get a pass either,” said Tony Hackett, a policy associate at Californians Against Waste.

According to the Taxpayers Protection Alliance, a national group that advocates for reduced government spending, roughly 2.2 million adults used electronic vapor products across the state in 2022 — a 40.4% increase from the year before.

The California Youth Tobacco Survey found that in 2023, vapes were the most prevalent tobacco product among high school students. It reported that 10% of students in rural areas vape and 6% in nonrural areas.

The governor’s office said it would not comment on the legislation.