Oil prices held on to gains over the past four sessions as supply chains were disrupted by attacks in the Red Sea

(1) Oil prices traded in a narrow range on Tuesday, holding on to gains from the past four sessions, as Iranian-aligned Houthi rebels in Yemen launched attacks on ships in the Red Sea, disrupting maritime trade and forcing freight companies to reroute ships. (2) U.S. crude oil is currently up 0.17%, trading near $72.63 per barrel, and Brent crude is currently trading at $78.06 per barrel, down 0.07%. In the past four trading days, the U.S. and two oils have rebounded nearly $6 after hitting multi-month lows, and the daily line has recorded four consecutive positives. Oil prices in both indicators rose more than 1% on Monday amid fears that freight forwarders will avoid the Red Sea. (3) Tina Teng, an Auckland-based analyst at CMC Markets, said: "While oil prices are stabilizing today, the potential risks posed by supply disruptions and turmoil in the Middle East could bring significant volatility to the oil market. "If geopolitical tensions escalate, the oil market could come under further upward pressure," she added. ” (4) Oil majors BP BP. l suspended all traffic through the Red Sea, tanker group Frontline FRO. OL said Monday that its ships would avoid passing through the channel. This suggests that the crisis is expanding to energy transport. (5) The Suez Canal connects the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, and is the shortest shipping route between Europe and Asia, with about 15% of the world's shipping passing through the Suez Canal. The attack on the ship prompted the United States and its allies to discuss the creation of a naval contingent to protect the Red Sea route. Tehran, a sworn enemy of the United States and Israel, warned that the move would be a mistake. (6) Jun Rong Yeap, market strategist at IG in Singapore, said: "Given the swift collective response by multiple countries to mitigate the risk of an attack, this may not give too much confidence that the disruption could last long, which has led to some reservations reflected in today's oil price action." ” (7) Iran's oil minister, Javad Owji, confirmed on Monday that the nationwide disruption at gas stations was caused by a cyberattack. (8) A hacking group accused by Iran of having ties to Israel claimed responsibility for the attack that disrupted service at gas stations across the country on Monday, according to Iranian state television and local Israeli media. (9) Meanwhile, U.S. officials said on Monday that in order to impose sanctions, the U.S. will urge shipping companies to disclose more information related to Russian oil deals, while acknowledging that a large portion of the oil trade has escaped Western scrutiny after Russia built parallel fleets