U.S. President Joe Biden said he was concerned about the impact of war in the Middle East on oil prices, which rose on Friday after the U.S. and Britain launched dozens of air strikes across Yemen on Houthi targets.

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT

Oil rose 1% on Friday as an increasing number of oil tankers diverted course from the Red Sea following the strikes.

London and Washington say their strikes in Yemen were in retaliation for months of attacks by the Houthi movement on Red Sea shipping that the Iran-backed fighters cast as a response to Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza. The move raised fear of the widening of the Gaza war.

KEY QUOTES

“I am very concerned,” Biden told reporters on Friday when asked how concerned he was about the impact of the strikes in Yemen on oil prices, suggesting that impact was a key reason why the conflict should be stopped from widening.

“That’s why we got to stop it.”

BY THE NUMBERS

Brent crude futures LCOc1 settled 88 cents, or 1.1%, higher at $78.29 a barrel. The session high was up over $3 to more than $80, its highest this year.

CONTEXT

The Houthi armed movement that took control of most of Yemen over the past decade has been attacking shipping at the mouth of the Red Sea – one of the world’s busiest trade lanes – since October. The attacks have forced shippers to change course and take longer routes.

The Houthis say their attacks have been a show of support for Palestinians under siege by Israel in Hamas-governed Gaza.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Nandita Bose and Kanishka Singh, Editing by Chris Reese and Rosalba O’Brien)