Oil Prices Soar on Houthi Missile Strikes in Saudi Arabia

Oil prices surged by 4% on Thursday to reach a one-week high after Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis fired missiles at Saudi Arabia. The Brent futures rose $4.10, or 4.0%, to $107.18 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude rose $3.66, or 4.0%, to $95.82.

The attack on Saudi Arabia's southern province of Taif and Yanbu area on the Red Sea was thwarted by the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, who intercepted six ballistic missiles. This escalation in tensions between Iran-backed forces and Saudi Arabia comes as diplomatic talks between the US and Iran showed little sign of progress.

The US has announced a shift in tactics to extend the reach of its financial sanctions by targeting companies from third countries that do business with Iranian firms. Iran threatened to retaliate against neighboring countries that comply with the US ban on its flights, making their airports 'unusable'. The diplomatic stalemate between the two nations remains.

In related news, Saudi Arabia is building up crude pumping volumes through its East-West Pipeline, but crude tanker loadings have yet to resume. Meanwhile, high-level contacts between the European Union and the US are ongoing amid a reported US plan to ban diesel exports that the EU believes would potentially have a negative impact on both sides.