Oil slips over 1% after Saudi Arabia announces maritime coalition
Business
Oil prices slipped over 1% on Thursday after Saudi Arabia announced it is teaming up with 14 countries, including Turkey, Pakistan, and Egypt, to form a proposed maritime defense coalition.
The goal? To make shipping routes like the Red Sea and Bab El-Mandeb Strait safer, especially after the recent blockade by Houthi militants in Yemen.
U.S.-Iran military strikes and shipping incidents
Earlier in the day, oil prices shot up thanks to fresh U.S.-Iran military strikes but dropped again following news of the coalition.
There has been plenty of drama at key spots: a drone attack sparked a fire at Egypt's Damietta port, tankers were rerouted in the Black Sea, and the Strait of Hormuz, where about a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas flows, remains tense.