LAHORE MIRROR (REUTERS) — Oil prices rose more than 3% on Monday, after new Houthi strikes on Saudi Arabia and Iranian attacks on ships in the Gulf compounded supply concerns following the closure of a key Saudi oil pipeline.
Brent crude futures rose $3.21, or 3.1%, to $107.82 per barrel as of 0340 GMT.
WTI futures gained $3.17, or 3.2%, to $103.22 per barrel.
The shutdown of the pipeline, which helps Saudi Arabia avoid the Strait of Hormuz and re-route its exports, threatens up to 4% of global oil supply.
With the pipeline out of service, Yanbu has enough inventory to cover just five to seven days of exports, according to three industry sources familiar with Saudi Arabia’s exports.
Saudi Arabian state media on Sunday released video footage of damage to homes and a mosque from what it said was a Houthi attack on the country’s southern Jazan province.
The Houthis said they had also struck a Saudi military base in a neighbouring province.
Meanwhile, a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz was struck by a projectile, causing a fire and forcing the crew to be evacuated, the British maritime security agency UKMTO said on Sunday.
Iran said one person was killed and four crew wounded aboard an Iranian commercial vessel struck off its coast.
Yemen’s Houthis reached the strategic island of Perim on Friday, moving to tighten their control over the Bab el-Mandeb strait, another key oil transit lane that has been carrying 4%-5% of global supply in recent months.
