Houthi Attacks Send Oil Prices Soaring to Six-Week High
Oil prices reached a six-week high on Tuesday after the Houthis attacked Saudi energy facilities in Yemen, setting oil installations ablaze and threatening to expand the Middle East conflict. Brent futures rose by 0.9% to settle at $97.92 per barrel, while WTI crude increased by 1.7% to $93.03.
The attacks on Saudi Arabia's south region wounded over 70 people and damaged oil installations, forcing a major expansion of the six-month-old war. The conflict has already disrupted oil exports from the Gulf region since Iran attacked energy infrastructure in late February. Saudi Arabia, the world's second-largest crude producer, has been shipping oil west to the Red Sea to circumvent the Strait of Hormuz.
Wall Street expects Middle East shipping disruptions to continue into 2027, with Goldman Sachs and HSBC raising their crude price forecasts for this year and next. The number of commodity vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz decreased from eight to seven on Monday, according to Kpler data.