Red Sea Attacks Keep Oil Prices Stuck Amid Heightened Shipping Risks

Petroleum prices showed little change on Wednesday despite heightened concerns over risks to global shipping routes after deadly attacks on vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Oman.

Brent crude futures, the international benchmark, fell by 13 cents to $88.78 U.S. per barrel mid-morning, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures traded 29 cents lower at $82.91 per barrel.

The attacks were carried out by Iran-backed Houthi rebels on a cargo ship in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait on Tuesday, marking the first reported fatalities from such incidents in over a year.

Hours later, U.S. forces fired missiles at a container ship that allegedly tried to break Washington’s blockade of Iranian ports in the Gulf of Oman.