Oil hits 5-month high as Houthi attacks stoke supply fears

Oil prices surged to a five-month high on Thursday following Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia, raising fears of further disruption to energy supplies in the critical exporting region. Brent futures surged 2.2 percent to $111.24 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude increased 1.2 percent to $98.29. This pushed Brent into technically overbought territory for the third time in a week, marking its highest close since May 18.

In response, Saudi Aramco instructed employees to evacuate its headquarters in Dhahran, near Bahrain, as fighting between the world's largest crude exporter and Yemen's Houthis escalates. The ongoing clashes between the Houthis, an Iran-aligned group, and the Saudi-led coalition supporting Yemen's internationally recognized government, have been raging since the group advanced towards Bab el-Mandeb, a vital shipping chokepoint at the Red Sea's entrance.

Although reports indicate Middle East crude oil exports have surpassed pre-conflict levels, the attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz and the Houthi strikes on Saudi oil facilities significantly counterbalance this positive trend.