REUTERS
Oil prices are rising in global trading on Monday amid growing tensions in Yemen, with June futures for North Sea Brent Blend up by 1.21%, to $64.22 per barrel Reuters has reported.
At the beginning of trading, May futures for WTI crude oil were up by 1.49%, to $56.57 per barrel.
About 100 people were killed on Sunday, April 19, in southern Yemen in fighting between Shiite Houthi rebels and supporters of the incumbent president Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi. The most violent clashes took place near the town of al-Dalia.
The rise in oil prices was supported by data from U.S. oil and gas company Baker Hughes: the number of drilling rigs in the United States for the week ending April 17 reduced by 34, or by 3.44%, to 954 rigs. In annual terms, the figure fell by 47.8%.
The escalation of the conflict in Yemen, a reduction in the number of drilling rigs and weak data on U.S. oil inventories are among the main reasons for the upward oil price trend.