Anjali Sharma
GG News Bureau
NEW YORK, 20th Dec. According to media reports on Tuesday oil and natural gas prices rose sharply after BP said it would pause all shipments through the Red Sea because of increased attacks on commercial vessels by Houthi militants in Yemen.
Media said that the decision by BP one of the world’s biggest oil companies after similar moves by major shipping firms, which analysts have warned could ripple through global supply chains and increase the costs of moving goods.
Brent crude, the global benchmark, was up 2.7 per cent at $78.68 a barrel. US oil also rose 2.7 per cent to $73.38 a barrel. Oil posted steep gains in the news.
The news affected the natural gas market.
Europe’s benchmark natural gas prices surged more than 9 per cent to above €36 ($39.65) per megawatt hour. That’s a fraction of the all-time high of €320 ($349.24) per megawatt hour seen in August 2022 at the height of the continent’s energy crisis, but still the most concrete sign yet of disruption in commodity markets following the attacks.
The White House officials stated that aerial attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis, who support the Hamas and the Palestinians have become more frequent since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war on October 7.
The group has claimed the attacks as revenge against Israel.
US and its allies are considering whether to expand an existing maritime taskforce in the Red Sea to protect commercial vessels.
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