Climbs with Brent above $112 amid Houthi attacks

Brent crude oil prices rose to their highest level since May on Thursday after Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi group carried out more attacks in Saudi Arabia.

The attacks raised fears that the conflict in the Middle East could spread further and disrupt oil supplies from one of the world’s most important oil-exporting regions, Hindustan Times.

Brent crude futures rose by $3.35, or 3.08per cent, to $112.17 a barrel by 0818 GMT on Thursday. This was the highest level since May 18. Brent prices had touched $112.55 a barrel earlier in the trading session.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures also moved higher. WTI crude rose by $2.68, or 2.76per cent, to $99.83 a barrel, according to Reuters.

Oil market analysts said efforts to reduce tensions in Ukraine and the Middle East were not convincing enough to calm the markets.

Attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz and Houthi strikes on Saudi Arabia and its oil infrastructure were raising concerns about oil supplies, despite reports that Middle Eastern crude exports had recovered to levels above those seen before the conflict, PVM Oil analyst Tamas Varga said.

Varga also said he did not expect the conflicts to ease before the US midterm elections. He said this could keep oil prices high in the coming weeks, according to Reuters.

Despite the security concerns, Middle Eastern crude oil exports remained high. Morgan Stanley analysts estimated that crude oil exports from the region stood at around 17 million barrels per day last week.

The United States has also taken steps to protect its diplomatic staff in the region. The US State Department ordered some diplomats and their family members to leave American missions in Saudi Arabia. It also plans to withdraw family members from several other US diplomatic missions across the Middle East, US officials told Reuters.