A decline in US inventories and a rise in the price of oil: With continued weakness in global supply chains since the Covid epidemic,
and with increasing tension in the Red Sea, oil prices rose to their highest level in a month.

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Oil prices rise due to a decline in US inventories and Chinese stimulus

Indications of Aggravation in Geopolitical Tensions

Oil prices rise due to a decline in US inventories and Chinese stimulus

Oil prices rose to their highest level in a month, with West Texas Intermediate crude surpassing $75 a barrel,
and Brent crude prices remaining above $80.
came after an unexpected drop in US oil inventories by more than 9 million barrels, reaching the lowest since October.
In China, the government announced a reduction in the mandatory reserve ratio for banks, indicating the adoption of additional support measures.

Oil rose due to geopolitical tensions in the Red Sea and fears of rising oil supplies from producing countries outside OPEC.

By exposing vulnerabilities in global supply chains that have persisted since the coronavirus pandemic,
the Red Sea tensions have highlighted risks from other potential flashpoints,
warned Josh Lersky, senior director of the Atlantic Council’s GeoEconomics Center in Washington.

He concluded: “If someone expects that after two years, we will be able to see the Red Sea closed
and say that this is acceptable because we have strengthened our ability to withstand near our homelands, then this is not realistic.”

The market continues to follow developments cautiously, awaiting clarifications about global growth expectations and the impact of geopolitical risks.

Indications of Aggravationgeo in Geopolitical Tensions

Amid the turquoise waters off Yemen, there are signs that tensions may be escalating.
The Pentagon announced yesterday that the United States and its allies destroyed 25 missile facilities belonging to the Houthis,
days after US President Joe Biden warned of the possibility of continuing air strikes shortly.

As for the US Deputy National Security Advisor, John Finner, he told ABC last Sunday: “Achieving deterrence is not an easy matter.
We are depleting their stocks so that they will not be able to launch many attacks over time. This will take time until we finish it.”

Late last Sunday, the United States of America announced the killing of the first two soldiers participating in military operations,
as two Navy special forces were killed during a night mission to control a sailboat, a local boat that the Houthis often use to transport supplies from Iran.

Most of the Houthi attacks occurred in and around the Bab al-Mandab area, a narrow strait through which ships pass to enter the Red Sea from the Indian Ocean.

Muhammad Al-Bukhaiti, a member of the Houthi Political Council,
pledges to continue attacks as long as the Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip and its siege continues.
He added: “We are confident of our victory regardless of the extent to which they mobilize forces.”

A decline in US inventories and a rise in the price of oil