Houthi Attacks Push Crude Prices to Multi-Week Highs, Rattling Global Fuel Markets

Oil traders are watching Monday for the impact on prices of Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia’s energy infrastructure, which have already driven crude to the highest level in weeks and deepened fears of a prolonged energy crisis that’s hitting American drivers at the pump.Brent crude sat above $104 a barrel on Sunday, with West Texas Intermediate sitting above $100. The price surge followed a wave of strikes by Iran-backed Houthi fighters on four cities in southern Saudi Arabia that wounded more than 70 persons and ignited fires at oil facilities. The attacks represent one of the largest assaults yet on the kingdom, a key American ally and the world’s second-largest crude producer.The violence has coincided with a broader unraveling of a fragile truce in Yemen. Last week, Houthi forces seized the port city of Mokha and the island of Mayun, pushing out Saudi-backed troops and tightening their grip on the Bab el-Mandeb strait — one of the world’s most critical shipping corridors, according to Reuters.A senior Houthi leader, Mohammed Bukthi, told NPR that the offensive is retaliation for Saudi Arabia’s long-running blockade of Houthi-held territory, which he says has caused fatal food shortages.“Yemen will not be silenced as Saudi Arabia and its allies are free to navigate these waters while Yemen isn’t able to do so in the Red Sea,” Mr. Bukthi said. He described the strategy as a “blockade for a blockade,” aimed at pressuring Riyadh to halt its airstrikes, and maintained that Houthi forces are not targeting international shipping — only Saudi assets.Saudi Arabia was already rerouting oil through an east-west pipeline to the Red Sea to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, where shipping has been restricted since American and Israeli strikes on Iran in February. The Saudi Energy Ministry confirmed Thursday that Houthi attacks forced a “precautionary suspension” of that pipeline. Satellite imagery from Europe’s Copernicus Sentinel-3 program showed fires near the pipeline’s western terminus.With both of its major export routes compromised, Saudi Arabia’s crude exports fell to just 3.2 million barrels a day last month — its lowest level in more than a decade, according to maritime analytics firm Kpler.Wall Street is bracing for the disruption to last. Goldman Sachs, HSBC, and other major banks have raised their crude price forecasts for 2026 and 2027, with Bank of America warning oil could reach $150 a barrel if energy infrastructure damage continues, Reuters reported.American consumers are already feeling the impact. The national average for gasoline hit $4.32 a gallon on Saturday, up more than 34 percent from a year ago, according to AAA. Diesel prices reached a record $6.20 a gallon, a jump of more than 63 percent year-over-year.In Ireland to watch a golf tournament, Mr. Trump urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to avoid hitting Russia’s diesel infrastructure. “Mr. Zelenskyy has to do one thing: he has to stop knocking out diesel fuel in Russia,” Mr. Trump said. “We spoke to Mr. Zelenskyy about it. There are plenty of other targets. Don’t hit diesel fuel. That’s hurting the world.”Diesel, heavily used in farm equipment and by long-haul truckers, was selling at a national average of $6.20 a gallon on Sunday, up from $3.70 a year ago, according to AAA.Meanwhile, Iran and Oman are close to reaching an understanding that would not immediately reopen the Strait of Hormuz but would create a framework for its eventual reopening, according to an Iranian source who spoke to the semi-official Tasnim news agency on Saturday, the Times of Israel reported. The source described the emerging arrangement as a move toward Iran asserting sovereignty over the waterway, stressing that any reopening hinges entirely on Washington satisfying Tehran’s demands.The remarks precede a gathering between Iran and Gulf nations scheduled for Monday. A senior Iranian official, speaking anonymously, said the meeting would offer an opportunity to address several matters, including Hormuz, though a formal agreement over the strait is not anticipated.The official noted that Oman initiated Monday’s talks, which will also serve as a platform for discussing regional concerns beyond the strait itself. Iran, the official added, continues to push for a deal permitting it to charge fees on vessels transiting the strait — a proposal Oman has consistently opposed.For months, Iran has been in talks with Oman, which oversees the strait’s opposite shoreline, to establish rules governing passage through the waterway. Oman maintains that its negotiating position has backing from fellow Arab Gulf states.Iran confirmed Friday it would join Monday’s meeting in Oman, though Oman itself has yet to officially confirm the gathering, and other regional players have not commented.Bahrain, however, announced Saturday that it would skip the talks, citing regional infrastructure attacks and stating that stability “cannot be preserved through a policy of appeasement.” Bahrain further insisted that Hormuz remain open without “discrimination, fees, or permits.”

Houthi Attacks Push Crude Prices to Multi-Week Highs, Rattling Global Fuel Markets

Houthi Attacks Push Crude Prices to Multi-Week Highs, Rattling Global Fuel Markets

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