(RTTNews) – Oil prices edged lower on Friday after storming back above $100 a barrel the previous day on fears of a wider Middle East conflict following Houthi attacks on tankers in the Red Sea.
Brent crude futures fell nearly 4 percent below $97 a barrel but were on track for a weekly gain of about 10 percent amid heightened fears of global supply disruptions.
WTI crude futures tumbled 3.4 percent to $89.07 but headed for a weekly gain of about 9 percent as clashes escalated over key shipping routes following Houthi attacks on Saudi tankers.
After the United States launched its 13th consecutive night of strikes on Iranian targets, Tehran retaliated with missile attacks targeting neighboring Arab countries hosting U.S. military bases.
Iran said it targeted U.S. missile systems, weapons depots and fuel storage facilities in Jordan, along with American military positions in Kuwait.
U.S. President Doanld Trump threatened both Iran and Yemen’s Houthi rebels with “major military punishment” after Houthis launched missile and drone strikes on oil tankers in the Red Sea to enforce a blockade on Saudi Arabia.
Trump threatened to launch a “massive attack” on Iran that could be “bigger than ever before.”
Media reports suggest that Saudi Arabia has begun rerouting its oil exports through Egypt’s Suez Canal after disruptions to its two main export routes – the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
Kazakhstan announced a reduction in its crude oil production following the half of exports through its main terminal of the Black Sea.
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