INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Oil prices leaped 4% on Friday, as oil tankers diverted course from the Red Sea following overnight air and sea strikes by the United States
and Britain on Houthi targets in Yemen after attacks on shipping by the Iran-backed group.Witnesses in Yemen confirmed explosions throughout
the country.Brent crude futures were up $3.16, or 4.1%, at $80.57 a barrel at 1124 GMT, while United States West Texas Intermediate crude
futures climbed $3.05, or 4.2%, to $75.07.Both benchmarks were on course for a second straight weekly rise.The United States and UK strikes
added to market concerns about the Israel-Hamas war widening into a broader conflict in the Middle East affecting oil supplies from the
present up to three times the impact of the 1970s oil price shocks and over double the impact of the Ukraine war on gas markets, atop
20 million barrels/day of oil move through the Strait of Hormuz, equivalent to around 20% of global consumption.United States President Joe
monitoring the situation with great concern.Attacks by the Houthis in the Red Sea have disrupted international commerce on a route between
show support for Palestinian militant group Hamas in its fight against Israel.Shipping giant Maersk (MAERSKb.CO) and others are diverting
a tanker carrying Iraqi crude destined for Turkey south of the Strait of Hormuz.Source - Reuters- Agencies
