XOM - Oil Prices Soar As Stakes Raised In Red Sea Conflict: US-Led Coalition Strikes Houthis In Yemen | Benzinga
Crude oil prices jumped by more than 4% in early trade on Friday as tensions in the Middle East and Red Sea intensified following U.S.-led airstrikes on Houthi rebel targets in Yemen.
Brent crude rose by 4.1% to $80.50 a barrel, while Nymex WTI jumped 4.2% to $75.02 a barrel. The United States Oil Fund (NYSE:USO), an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that tracks the price of light-sweet crude, was up 3.5% in pre-market trade, following a 1.7% gain in the previous session.
Prices have come under upward pressure in recent sessions as tensions in the oil shipping area of the Red Sea and Arabian Gulf have come under increasingly frequent attacks from Yemen-based Houthi rebels, supported and funded by Iran.
Iran itself seized an oil tanker, the St Nikolas, bound for Turkey on ...