Oil Surges Over $2 as Houthi Attacks on Saudi Arabia Escalate Middle East Tensions

Oil prices jumped more than $2 a barrel on Thursday after additional Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia raised concerns over a wider conflict and disruptions to crude supplies from the world's key exporting region. Brent crude futures rose $2.82, or 2.59%, to $111.64 a barrel at 0626 GMT, near a five-month high. US West Texas Intermediate gained $2.24, or 2.31%, to $99.39. Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis struck several targets on Wednesday, killing at least one person and wounding eight at a civilian airport in Dammam, and killing two in a drone attack on a Saudi oil field. The IRGC Navy said four vessels engaged in illegal oil transfers in the northern Persian Gulf caught fire after being tracked, and three more hit mines west of the Strait of Hormuz. US crude stocks fell by 3.06 million barrels to 412.5 million barrels last week, the EIA said, versus expectations for an 820,000-barrel draw.