Oil surges on Yemen air strikes, global stocks tumble
Crude prices rose as much as 6 percent on Thursday after Saudi Arabia and its allies launched air strikes on Yemen, pushing shares lower in Europe, the Middle East and Asia and lifting oil producers' currencies.
The military operations, including air strikes, targeted Iran-backed Houthi rebels besieging the southern Yemen city of Aden. Arab producers ship oil via the Gulf of Aden and Suez Canal to Europe.
"Oil is having a nice move after more geopolitical tensions in the Middle East over Yemen. Saudi has intervened via a military operation but, to be clear, (it) has at the moment led to no disruptions in oil supply,"
A vertiginous slide in oil prices, from more than $115 a barrel last June to a low of $45 in January, has been a major driver of financial markets in the past year and a key factor driving monetary policy.
The fall has cut living costs for consumers across the globe but has triggered fears of growth-sapping deflation. More than two dozen central banks have eased policy, driving yields on many low-risk bonds into negative territory.
Oil's rise was a fillip for the rouble, which gained 1.4 percent to 62.14 to the dollar . Russia is a major producer and the oil price is a key factor in government finances.
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