Petroleum prices were little changed Wednesday, after deadly attacks on vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Oman heightened concerns over risks to global shipping routes.
Brent crude futures, the international benchmark, were down 13 cents to $88.78 U.S. per barrel mid-morning. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures traded 29 cents lower to $82.91 per barrel.
Iran-backed Houthi rebels killed six people in an attack on a cargo ship in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait on Tuesday, marking the first reported fatalities from attacks on Red Sea shipping in more than a year.
Hours later, U.S. forces said they fired missiles at a container ship that allegedly tried to break Washington’s blockade of Iranian ports in the Gulf of Oman.
The incidents underscore the growing impact of the nearly six-month-old war on two key global shipping routes, even as diplomatic efforts toward reopening the Strait of Hormuz show signs of progress.
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