Middle East Tensions Push Oil Prices to Six-Week High

Oil prices rose sharply on Wednesday, with North Sea Brent briefly surpassing $95 per barrel, its highest level in nearly six weeks.

Markets are reacting to the deteriorating security situation in the Middle East, where attacks between the United States and Iran continue.

At the same time, concerns are growing about threats to maritime transport after Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen threatened to attack ships carrying Saudi Arabian oil through the Bab el-Mandeb strait.

The European Union's Aspides naval mission has recommended that vessels linked to Israel, the US or Saudi Arabia avoid sailing through the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

Analysts note that traders are now monitoring two strategic maritime routes, the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb strait, as any disruption to traffic could significantly limit oil supplies to global markets.

(Reuters, mja)