Oil prices slip as shipping moves on amid conflict
Business
Oil prices slipped on Wednesday, even as shipping kept moving through the region despite ongoing conflict.
Brent crude fell to $89.45 a barrel, and US WTI dropped to $83.90, showing that global markets are feeling the impact but not stopping entirely.
Bab el-Mandeb sees 39 ships
More ships are passing through the Bab el-Mandeb strait (39 on Tuesday alone, the highest in weeks), while traffic in the crucial Strait of Hormuz is still limited after earlier U.S.-Iran clashes.
Tensions ramped up with U.S.-Saudi airstrikes hitting Iran-backed groups in Iraq, and Iran firing back at US bases and tankers, keeping things uncertain for oil flows in the region.