The Most Significant Attack on An Oil Tanker! Rising Oil Prices

The situation in the Red Sea has festered and the crisis has escalated further. Yemen's Houthis claim to have launched an attack on a British oil tanker, the most significant Houthi attack on an oil tanker to date. The oil tanker of the Tok Group was hit by a Houthi missile in the Red Sea and was on fire. Influenced by the news, oil prices pulled up during the session, and international oil prices hit a two-month closing high.

According to reports, Yemeni Houthi military spokesman Yahya al-Sari'a issued a statement on 26 local time, saying that its maritime forces in the Gulf of Aden on a British oil tanker "Marin Luanda" launched missiles and hit the target, causing the ship to catch fire. There has been no response from the British side.

An oil tanker operating for trading giant Trafigura has been hit by a missile while sailing through the Red Sea, media say. A Trafigura spokesman said in a statement, "Firefighting equipment on board is being deployed to suppress and contain a fire in a cargo hold on the starboard side. We remain in contact with the ship and are monitoring the situation closely. Warships in the area are en route to assist."

The ship that was attacked was carrying naphtha, which is used in the production of gasoline and plastics. Tok has since said that the oil tanker hit by the missile was carrying Russian fuel oil.

The British Navy said all relevant authorities were responding and advised ships to navigate the Red Sea with caution.

Maritime intelligence company Ambrey Analytics said the attack took place about 55 miles southeast of Aden, Yemen.

As a result of the above news, oil prices reversed early losses and pulled up sharply during the session, eventually closing higher.WTI March crude futures closed up $0.65, or 0.84%, at $78.01/barrel, a new high since November 29 last year, and a cumulative gain of 7.33% this week. Brent March crude oil futures closed up $1.12, or 1.36%, at $83.55 per barrel, a new high since November 30 last year, and a cumulative gain of 6.35% this week.

The latest data from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), WTI crude oil bullish sentiment hit a recent 11-week high.CFTC data show that in the week of January 23, speculators increased their NYMEX WTI crude oil net long position by 43,980 contracts to 134,140 contracts, a recent 11-week high. The net long position in Brent and WTI crude oil increased by 39,026 contracts to 335,811 contracts, a recent high of about three months. NYMEX gasoline net long position increased to 66,945 contracts, a three-week high.

The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) said that on the same day the Houthis of Yemen fired a ballistic missile at the United States destroyer USS Kani in the Gulf of Aden. The missile was subsequently shot down by United States forces, causing no casualties or property damage.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict remains deadlocked. The southern Israeli city of Ashkelon sounded the rocket siren on the 26th local time, which is the first time since the city sounded the siren. Ashkelon is about 10 kilometers from the Gaza Strip and has suffered many rounds of rocket attacks during the current round of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

On 26 local time, following the ruling of the United Nations International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the case of South Africa's accusation of "genocide" against Israel in the Gaza Strip, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a video statement saying that Israel would continue to fight the Palestinian Islamic Resistance (Hamas). Netanyahu said that Israel would continue to facilitate humanitarian assistance and do its utmost to protect civilians from harm.