Oil rose nearly three per cent
yesterday as mounting attacks by the Iran-aligned Yemeni Houthi militant group
on ships in the Red Sea disrupted maritime trade.
A Norwegian-owned vessel was
attacked in the Red Sea on Monday and oil major BP said it has temporarily
paused all transits through the body of water. Other shipping firms said over
the weekend that they would avoid the route.
Brent crude futures were up $1.98,
or 2.6per cent, to $78.53 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose
$1.82, or 2.6%, to $73.25.
Both crude benchmarks posted
small gains last week, following seven weeks of decline, after a U.S. Federal
Reserve meeting raised hopes that the U.S. central bank's interest rate hikes
are over and cuts are on the way.
"BP's decision to halt
shipping through the Red Sea may have crystallized concerns for the oil
market," said Tim Evans, an independent oil analyst at Evans on Energy.
"The re-routing of tankers
does add cost and it does add transit time, so we are seeing... fewer barrels
arriving at European refineries in the near term," Evans added.
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