Brent Crude oil prices have just hit a 2015 high on Yemen worries and US data
Oil prices have surged today on the back of worries over the conflict in Yemen and new data suggesting a fall in US supplies, sending prices to their highest of 2015.
Benchmark Brent Crude hit $65.13 a barrel, rising $2.40 or three per cent, its first move above $64 this year, while West Texas Intermediate rose $1.63 to $57.81 per barrel.
The rally was down to rising tensions in the middle east, where fighting in Yemen has renewed fears of disruption to production in the area. A Saudi-led coalition is continuing with airstrikes on the country against rebels.
There was also new data showing US oil production edged lower for the second consecutive week according to the Energy Information Administration, while data provider Genscape said stockpiles at one of the largest stockpiles in the US at Cushing Oklahoma fell.
"The Saudi escalation of its Yemen campaign is producing exactly the kind of geopolitical tensions oil is known to rally for," said Gene McGillian, senior analyst at Tradition Energy, an oil markets advisory in Stamford, Connecticut, speaking to Reuters.
The Bab el-Mandab strait, a key route for global oil shipments through which more than 3.4m barrels pass every day, is at risk from disruption from the troubles in Yemen.
