Live, rolling coverage of business, economics and financial markets as traders fear attacks from Yemen and Iran creating ‘two-chokepoint problem’

The attack on ships in the Red Sea threatened to expand the conflict and severely impact global oil supplies already hobbled by the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

July 23 : Oil prices rose more than 1.5 per cent to their highest in more than six weeks on Thursday, with the United States launching a new round of strikes on Iran and Yemen's…

Brent crude futures rose $2.2 or 2.3 percent, to $96.27