Houthi Attack Slows Shipping Through Red Sea

Shipping through the Bab el-Mandeb strait in the Red Sea has slowed significantly following a Houthi attack on Saudi oil installations. According to data from Kpler, only 11 commodity vessels passed through the strait on Sunday, down from previous months.

The disruption is part of an ongoing conflict between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia, with the group attempting to blockade Saudi exports. The attack has caused a surge in prices for physical crude cargoes in the Middle East, Europe, and Africa, reaching two-month highs last week.

Four vessels exited the Red Sea on Sunday, including three tankers carrying Saudi and Emirati crude for eastern China's Ningbo port, as well as a tanker with about 750,000 barrels of Saudi crude onboard for Pakistan. Another VLCC, New Pearl, is exiting via Bab el-Mandeb strait for eastern China's Zhoushan port.

Meanwhile, transit through the Strait of Hormuz also remained low over the weekend, with fewer than 10 commodity vessels passing through daily. This comes despite a pause in strikes between the US and Iran in the region.