Oil Prices Surge as Houthi Attacks Intensify in Middle East

Oil prices surged on Monday after more Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and strikes in the Strait of Hormuz raised concerns over supply disruptions. The attacks, which included targets such as an Aramco refinery and fuel terminal, blocked off another key oil supply channel in the Middle East.

The Houthi group, aligned with Iran, secured a position allowing them to launch unfettered attacks in the Bab el-Mandeb strait, further tightening the region's already-tense security situation. Saudi Arabia had shut its crucial East-West pipeline following the attacks.

Oman's foreign minister, Sayyid Badr Albusaidi, announced that a regional meeting between Iran and Gulf powers, initially scheduled for Monday, had been postponed indefinitely. This delay is likely to keep Hormuz contested in the near-term, with oil supplies through the channel slowed to a fraction of prewar levels following renewed U.S.-Iran hostilities.