Oil prices rallied over $2 a barrel on Thursday after more Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia stoked concerns over a broader escalation and further disruptions to crude supplies from the world's key exporting region, Reuters reported. Brent crude futures climbed $2.82, or 2.59%, to $111.64 a barrel at 0626 GMT, close to a five-month high, while US West Texas Intermediate crude gained $2.24, or 2.31%, to $99.39 — yaani, Brent at about $112 for one barrel (roughly 159 litres).

Source: Reuters

"Oil prices remain well bid, with ICE Brent back above $110 per barrel this morning following additional deadly attacks on Saudi Arabia," ING analysts said in a note on Thursday, Reuters reported. The US State Department plans to withdraw family members from a number of other US missions in the region, US officials told Reuters.

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis struck several targets on Wednesday, with at least one person killed and eight more wounded at a civilian airport in Dammam, and two people killed in a drone attack on a Saudi oil field, Reuters reported. Explosions were also heard in Sirik in southern Iran, Iranian media reported on Wednesday, saying the nature and origin of the explosions were unknown.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy said on Thursday that four vessels involved in illegal oil transfers in the northern Persian Gulf were simultaneously hit and caught fire after being tracked by its forces on Wednesday, Reuters reported. The IRGC added — as its own claim — that three more vessels collided with mines west of the Strait of Hormuz, and warned the US military that continued provocations could lead to a wider response against its regional bases.

Supply disruption continued to impact global inventories. US crude stocks fell by 3.06 million barrels to 412.5 million barrels last week, the US Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday — yaani, a fall of 30.6 lakh barrels to 41.25 crore barrels — compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for an 820,000-barrel draw.