WTI traded near 79.10 after sliding to 78.37 in European hours and then jumping almost $2 to 80.29 on Houthi threats to target all Saudi oil sites and key facilities if Riyadh escalates in Yemen. The rally failed to hold above the 50-day EMA at 80.21, leaving the contract down 0.81% on the session. The move followed a four-day escalation sequence that included strikes on Abha International Airport and warnings over Saudi airspace, while attention shifted to risks around Saudi export routing via the East–West Pipeline to Yanbu and the Bab al-Mandeb chokepoint; a 2019 strike on Abqaiq cut output from 9.8 to roughly 4.1 million barrels per day.
Geopolitical Tensions and Naval Blockades
Elsewhere, an American naval blockade of Iranian ports was reinstated after Tehran attacked seven commercial vessels in a week, with roughly a dozen crew dead, missing or injured, and US forces ran fresh strike waves including a seven-hour operation against dozens of coastal targets.
US Economic Data and Technical Analysis
US data showed initial jobless claims at 208K versus 217K consensus, while the Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index printed 41.4 versus 13 expected. Key technical levels were resistance at $80.21 and $80.29, with support at $78.37 and the 200-day EMA at $77.34; the Stochastic RSI was rising through the 60s, with a close above $80.21 flagged as confirmation and a break below $77.34 as invalidation.
