are going to see this crisis continue for some time. thank ou for continue for some time. thank you for your continue for some time. thank you for your time. members of the united nations security council have called on yemen s houthis to halt their attacks on shipping in the red sea, saying they are illegal and threaten regional stability, freedom of navigation and global food supplies. disruption to shipping has prompted some companies to re route container ships, leading to higher costs. ajoint statement by a dozen countries, including the us and uk, earlier warned the iran backed houthi militants that they would bear the consequences if they continued to threaten lives and the freedom of navigation. that s being seen as a threat of military action against targets in yemen. at the un security council, israel s ambassador, gilad erdan, called for sanctions to be imposed in response to what he called
The situation around the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, a crucial shipping route connecting the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea to the Indian Ocean, has escalated due to recent attacks by Yemen-based Houthi militants
Brent crude was up 49 cents, or 0.6 per cent, to $77.53 a barrel at 1432 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude was up 36 cents, or 0.5 per cent, at $72.01, after both benchmarks gained around $2 in earlier trading
around the cape of good hope in africa. houthi militants, based in yemen and backed by iran, have repeatedly attacked vessels in the red sea recently in response to the war in gaza. it has raised concerns about the disruptions to global trade through the waterway. by some estimates, about 12% of global trade and 3 million barrels of crude oil traverse the red sea every day. let s stay with news in china, because official figures show manufacturing has slowed for the third straight month in december. the data, which measures business sentiment, came in at 49 and a reading below 50 indicates a contraction. however, a private sector survey done by caixin suggests that factory activity had in fact expanded last month. to understand why these statistics are so different, we re speaking to louise loo from consultancy 0xford economics.
Reuters forecasts Brent crude to average $82.56/barrel in 2024, a slight increase from last year s $82.17. Despite global growth concerns, heightened US military activities in the Middle East like in Syria and Iraq may elevate oil prices.