How the Bab al-Mandab blockade threat helped push oil back above $100

Escalating Houthi warnings to ships carrying Saudi crude through the strait lead to fears of further price surge

A fresh front in the Middle East crisis opened this week, bringing a return of soaring global energy markets and stoking fears that the oil price could surge to $120 (£90) a barrel.

In a matter of days the price of Brent crude has jumped by more than 13%, breaching the $100 a barrel mark on Thursday after Yemen’s Houthi militias took aim at a new target: Saudi oil exports via the Bab al-Mandab strait.