Crude oil rose toward $95 per barrel on Wednesday, extending its rally to a fifth straight session as escalating tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran-backed Houthi rebels heightened fears of supply disruptions in the Middle East.
On Tuesday, Yemen’s Houthi militants fired a missile at Saudi Aramco’s headquarters in Dhahran, in eastern Saudi Arabia, igniting a fire in part of the complex. The rebels had also targeted Riyadh’s main airport over the weekend, while a Saudi-led coalition mounted an offensive to recapture rebel-held territory in Yemen.
At the same time, Tehran has stepped up attacks on tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz, though the United States said it had helped facilitate the passage of more than 19 million barrels of crude through the strategic chokepoint.
In Europe, President Trump defended his diesel export agreement with Russia, arguing that the additional supplies would flow into the global market and help alleviate elevated prices.