Lates News

As the Houthi armed group in Yemen officially becomes involved in the Middle East conflict and more US troops are deployed to the region, oil prices are rising. The market is increasingly worried about the escalation of conflict and further threatening the stability of the energy market. Both US and Brent crude oil opened higher by about 1% on Monday, while oil futures surged by over 3%. The spot price difference of Brent crude oil highlights market concerns about extremely tight short-term supply: on Monday, the premium of the near-month contract over the next month contract reached as high as $7.58 per barrel, while the price difference was almost zero the week before the outbreak of conflict. Over the weekend, the Houthi armed group launched missiles and drones towards Israel and stated that they will continue their actions until attacks against Iran stop. Although the Houthi armed group has not indicated they will target ships passing through the southern Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, they do have the capability to do so.