Oil prices rise after Iran rejects calls to end support for Houthi Red Sea attacks

hl.co.uk:

We don’t support this browser anymore.
This means our website may not look and work as you would expect. Read more about browsers and how to update them here.

Newsroom

Newsroom articles are published by leading news agencies. Hargreaves Lansdown is not responsible for an article's content and its accuracy. We may not share the views of the author.

HL Podcast

HL Insight

Oil prices have risen sharply after Iran rejected calls to end support for attacks by Houthi rebels on vessels in the Red Sea and sent a warship to the vital trading route.

Article originally published by The Guardian. Hargreaves Lansdown is not responsible for its content or accuracy and may not share the author's views. News and research are not personal recommendations to deal. All investments can fall in value so you could get back less than you invest.

Published by

02 Jan 2015

In the first trading session of the new year, Brent crude rose $1.28, or 1.7%, to $78.32 a barrel on Tuesday, while US West Texas Intermediate crude was at $72.69 a barrel, up $1.04, or 1.5%.

Prices were driven higher by fears of supply disruption amid the tensions in the Red Sea which leads to the Suez Canal.

Related: Aldi and Lidl enjoy record Christmas sales; Red Sea tensions lift oil price — business live

Some shipping companies have paused sailings on the route, in favour of a much longer trip around the tip of Africa. Rerouting the vessels will add time and expense for shipping companies.

Oil prices were also supported by hopes of strong demand over China’s spring festival holidays in February and economic stimulus in the country, which is the top importer of crude.

A Reuters survey of economists and analysts predicted that the average price of Brent crude would be