Brent Crude Surges to April High on Houthi Attacks, UAE Oil Spill

Brent crude futures jumped $4.01, or 3.54%, to $117.18 a barrel on Friday, touching a session high of $117.38 — the highest since late April — after Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia and an oil spill off the UAE coast raised concerns about Mideast supply disruption. West Texas Intermediate gained $3.75, or 3.77%, to $103.22. Brent is on track for a 6.7% weekly rise, its third straight weekly gain, while WTI is poised to finish 1.8% higher on the week. Saudi Aramco ordered the evacuation of its Dhahran headquarters on Thursday as fighting intensified between the kingdom and Yemen-based Houthis. The UAE environment ministry said Friday a tanker spill was detected off Umm Al Quwain, without identifying a cause or the vessel. Shipping sources said October 9 that the Gem No.2 was struck by an unidentified projectile west of Al Jazeera in the UAE. "The market is concerned about these continued Iranian attacks on tankers," said Andrew Lipow of Lipow Oil Associates.