Oil Prices Jump after US-British Aggression on Yemen

By Staff, agencies

Crude oil prices have gained more than 2% on Friday after the US and UK carried out a series of strikes on targets in Yemen.

Global benchmark Brent futures had risen by 2.48% to trade at $79.33 per barrel as of around 10:00 GMT. The US benchmark WTI was up 2.79% to about $74 per barrel. Both benchmarks were adding to gains of nearly 1% during the previous trading session, putting them on track for a second straight weekly rise.

US President Joe Biden subsequently confirmed the strikes.

“These targeted strikes are a clear message that the United States and our partners will not tolerate attacks on our personnel or allow hostile actors to imperil freedom of navigation in one of the world’s most critical commercial routes,” Biden claimed in a statement.

Several global shipping giants have begun diverting their vessels away from the Red Sea for the foreseeable future, sending them instead on the longer journey around the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa. The rerouting has sent container freight rates skyrocketing.