Commodities
Houthis Strike Saudi Oil Facilities, Sending Global Prices Soaring
The Iran-backed Houthis attacked four cities in southern Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, wounding over 70 people and setting oil installations ablaze. The attacks appeared to be a major expansion of the six-month-old Middle East war.
The Houthis used drones and missiles to strike a Saudi airbase in Khamis Mushait and targets belonging to Saudi Arabia's state oil company in Abha, Najran, and Jazan. Saudi authorities reported blazes at the sites and said women and children were among those hurt.
The attacks have the potential to worsen the war's global economic impact by disrupting Middle East energy supplies beyond the blockaded Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude prices surged more than two percent on Tuesday, reaching above $99 per barrel.