Houthi Attacks Fail to Stop Middle East’s Pricing Problem

Houthi missile attacks on tankers transiting the Red Sea and the Bab-el-Mandeb strait have lifted oil prices, allowing OPEC+ heavyweights such as Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates to save face after the most recent meeting of the oil group actually prompted another sell-off rather than persuading the oil markets that Riyadh, Moscow and the others could manage the pitfalls of declining demand. However, even with Dubai moving back to the $80 per barrel mark, sentiment has been weak across the Asian market, aggravated by China’s unsettling…