The price of a barrel of Brent crude for March delivery rose 2.3% to $79.2 this Friday at the start of trading on the Intercontinental Futures Exchange (ICE) in London, as the war in the Red Sea escalated.
North Sea crude oil, the European benchmark, started the day in international futures trading up $1.79 from Thursday’s close of $77.41.
Oil prices in Europe rose sharply this morning as violence in the Red Sea escalated following joint military action by the United States, Britain and eight other countries against Yemen’s Houthi rebels and their increased attacks on ships in those waters. .
In a joint statement, a total of 10 countries, including Canada and Germany, said the action was aimed at protecting international trade and those transiting the waters of the Red Sea.
The latest Houthi attack, which did not cause any damage, came on Thursday when the rebels launched a ballistic missile aimed at hitting shipping lanes in the Gulf of Aden, a strategic oil shipping route from the Persian Gulf.