Saudi Arabia requested the postponement of a key meeting on the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson has said.

Oman’s foreign minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi announced yesterday that the meeting with other Gulf nations to discuss navigation in the strait had been postponed “in the interests of consensus” (more in 8.31 post).

The Iranian spokesperson said Israel is the only winner of tensions between Iran and other Gulf powers.

Problems for the world’s biggest oil exporter are pushing up prices again today.

Brent crude is up above $107 a barrel as Saudi Arabia’s flows come under greater pressure.

That’s a rise of about 3% so far today.

Already hurt by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Saudi Arabia’s main alternative export route – an East-West pipeline – has been offline since attacks by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels on Friday.

It has left a further 4% of global supply at risk, as it isn’t clear how long it will take to fix.

The cost of Brent is up 10% over the past week.

None of this bodes well for fuel pump prices in the coming days and weeks after steady increases over the past fortnight.