Houthi Attack Slams Oil Shipping Routes, Crude Prices Soar

Ship traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait plummeted to its lowest level in months on Sunday, following an attack by Yemen's Houthi rebels on Saudi oil facilities along the Red Sea coast.

The disruption has pushed physical crude prices in the Middle East, Europe and Africa to their highest levels in two months.

According to Kpler data, only 11 commodity vessels passed through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait on Sunday, with seven of them being oil tankers. Three entered the Red Sea, including two very large crude carriers (VLCCs) heading to the Saudi port of Yanbu to load crude oil.

The disruption has also affected traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, where fewer than 10 commodity vessels passed through each day over the weekend, despite a pause in U.S. and Iranian strikes.