2024-01-16 07:05:05
Oil rose amid the escalation of conflict in the region and tankers were diverted
Oil prices rose slightly today, Tuesday, in light of the escalation of the conflict in the region and ship tracking data showing that more tankers diverted their course away from the Red Sea after attacks launched by the Yemeni Houthi movement in the region.
Brent crude futures rose 12 cents, or about 0.2%, to $78.27 a barrel by 00.02 GMT. Crude oil closed 14 cents lower yesterday, Monday.
US West Texas Intermediate crude fell 17 cents, or 0.2%, to $72.52 a barrel after a public holiday in the United States on Monday.
An official from the Yemeni Houthi group said on Monday that the movement would expand its targets in the Red Sea region to include American ships, and the group pledged to continue attacks after the American and British strikes on its positions in Yemen.
The Houthi group said on Monday that it targeted an American ship in the Gulf of Aden with missiles, “and the hit was accurate and direct.”
The Houthi military spokesman, Yahya Saree, said that the group “considers all American and British ships and warships participating in the aggression against our country as hostile targets within the target bank of our forces.”
More tankers headed away from the southern Red Sea yesterday, Monday, due to the unrest, which led to an increase in the cost of shipping and the time it takes to transport oil from one place to another.
The Intertanko Oil Tanker Association stated that the joint naval forces led by the United States in Bahrain requested, last Friday, all ships to avoid the Bab al-Mandab Strait at the southern end of the Red Sea for several days in the wake of the American and British strikes.
Most container ships were avoiding the Red Sea before these strikes, and the rate of oil tanker traffic was almost unchanged in December.
However, since the joint naval forces’ warning, the number of tankers avoiding the area has increased, which increases the possibility of disruption of oil supplies through the Suez Canal in both directions.
Analysts at the Citigroup banking group said that the disruption to shipping traffic indirectly reduces supplies in the market by increasing the amount of oil loaded on ships by 35 million barrels.
Oil prices rose 2% last week due to the conflict in the region, but the lack of a direct impact on oil production may limit gains, according to analysts.
(Archyde.com, Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed)
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