Hormuz tanker crossings slip to lowest in more than two months

The number of tankers crossing the Strait of Hormuz fell to just one on Thursday, the lowest level since May 7, according to shiptracking data, amid ongoing shipping risks in the Middle East and as oil prices surged back to $100 a barrel.



Only one tanker crossed the Strait of Hormuz on July 23, compared with three the day earlier, data from analytics firm Kpler showed.



Very large crude carrier New Giant, loaded with 2 million barrels of Iraqi Basrah crude, exited the strait on Thursday and is due to arrive at China's Rizhao port by mid-August. No ships entered the Strait of Hormuz on July 23.



The U.S. military said late on Thursday that it had completed a 13th consecutive night of strikes on Iran.



Meanwhile, at the Bab el-Mandeb strait, commodity tanker crossings totalled 32 on July 23, up from 26 the day before, Kpler data showed.



Of those crossings, 14 tankers were going into the Red Sea and 18 were exiting the strait into the Gulf of Aden.



Out of the 18 tankers exiting Bab el-Mandeb, nine were carrying crude oil, including two loaded Chinese supertankers bound for China.