Oil prices hit six-week high

Business Recorder reported that crude oil reached a six-week peak on Tuesday after Houthi militants in Yemen struck Saudi energy sites, igniting oil installations and threatening to widen the Middle East war that is now six months old. Brent gained 92 cents, a 0.9 percent advance, to end the session at USD97.92 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate rose 1.7 percent to USD93.03.

Business Recorder reported that Brent has now closed at its highest level since July 23 for a second day running, leaving both benchmarks in technically overbought territory. The Houthis hit four cities in southern Saudi Arabia, wounding more than 70 people, while Houthi-controlled media reported Saudi airstrikes in Yemen later the same day. Gulf oil exports have been sharply curtailed since Iran attacked regional energy infrastructure and shipping in late February, and Saudi Arabia is now sending crude west to the Red Sea.

Global fuel prices are high mainly due to refinery disruptions in the Middle East, Russia and elsewhere. CME FedWatch data put the chance of a Fed rate increase in mid-September at roughly 60 percent, up from around 50 percent before a strong US jobs report. Crude also pared early gains after Trump told Putin he wanted a quick end to the Ukraine war, and China's August crude imports were 23.4 percent lower than a year earlier.