Oil prices rose by more than 2% today, Friday, as the United States and Britain launched strikes against Houthi military targets in Yemen in response to attacks launched by the group on ships in the Red Sea since late last year.
Brent crude futures rose $1.81, or 2.3%, to $79.17 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude rose $1.80, or 2.3%, to $73.7, before contracts slightly reduced their gains in early trading.
The American and British strikes represent one of the most dramatic indicators so far of the expansion of the war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in the Middle East since its outbreak on October 7.
US President Joe Biden said that the precise strikes are a clear message that the United States and its partners will not stand idly by when individuals are attacked, and that they will not allow “hostile parties to endanger freedom of navigation.” He added that Australia, Bahrain, Canada, and the Netherlands supported the operation.
The US-led attacks came in the wake of Iran’s seizure on Thursday of a tanker carrying Iraqi oil that was on its way to Turkey, in response to the United States’ seizure last year of oil that the same tanker was carrying.
Oil prices increased about 1% yesterday, Thursday, after the Iranian seizure of an oil tanker, amid fears of the possibility of escalation of the conflict in the Middle East.
This week, the Houthis in Yemen carried out their largest attacks to date on commercial shipping lines in the Red Sea.
Global trade fell by 1.3% in the period from November to December 2023, as armed attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea led to a decrease in the volume of goods transported in the region.
