Reuters _ Oil prices rose on Thursday as attacks by the Houthis on Saudi Arabia and mounting concerns over supply shortages fueled by ongoing maritime shipping tensions in the Gulf pushed prices higher.
Brent crude futures rose 1.2% to $110.11 per barrel
By 0034 GMT, Brent crude futures rose $1.29, or 1.2%, to $110.11 per barrel.
U.S. crude rises 1% to $98.12 per barrel
Meanwhile, U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 97 cents, or 1%, to $98.12 per barrel.
Brent crude had ended Wednesday's trading nearly unchanged, while WTI crude fell 67 cents.
U.S. officials told Reuters that the U.S. Department of State plans to withdraw family members of diplomats from several other U.S. missions in the region.
Houthi group launches new attacks on several targets in Saudi Arabia
Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi group launched attacks on several targets on Wednesday, killing at least one person and injuring eight others at a civilian airport in Dammam, while two people were killed in a drone attack targeting a Saudi oil field.
In a related context, Iranian media reported on Wednesday that explosions were heard in the Sirik region of southern Iran, noting that the nature and source of these explosions remain unknown.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told the Financial Times on Wednesday that his country is fully prepared to defend itself. For his part, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told state media that the United States cannot expect dialogue under the blockade it imposes on Iran and the threats it issues.
At least 18 attacks on maritime shipping traffic over the past two weeks
Data from Kpler shows that at least 18 attacks on maritime shipping traffic occurred over the past two weeks.
Analysts at the London Stock Exchange Group warned that Iran is targeting oil tankers in areas far beyond the Strait of Hormuz, reaching the Gulf of Oman, threatening crude oil loading operations in the Gulf region, as well as ship-to-ship oil transfers supporting loadings from the area.
New U.S. effort to stop the Russia-Ukraine conflict
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin received U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff in St. Petersburg on Wednesday for talks on ending the Ukraine war, as part of a new U.S. initiative to halt Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II.
The Kremlin stated that Putin agreed to resume U.S.-mediated peace talks with Ukraine as soon as possible, potentially by next month. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed his support for these talks, hoping they will begin as soon as possible.
U.S. crude inventories continue to decline
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) announced on Wednesday that crude oil inventories in the United States decreased by 3.06 million barrels to 412.5 million barrels last week, whereas analysts polled by Reuters had expected a drop of 820,000 barrels.
EIA data also showed that distillate inventories, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by 1.68 million barrels to 104.3 million barrels, compared with expectations for a 1.16 million-barrel decline.
