Ship traffic through Bab el-Mandeb falls 34%; Houthi blockade opens a new front for the oil market

According to ship-tracking firm Kpler, traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb strait fell 34% on Tuesday, July 21 compared with the previous day, a day after Yemen's Houthi militia declared a "maritime blockade" of Saudi Arabia. At least five tankers carrying Saudi crude reversed course in the Red Sea.

CNN reports that Bab el-Mandeb is one of the world's key energy chokepoints, with about 7.4 million barrels of petroleum a day, roughly 7% of global oil output, transiting it in June. Analysts say simultaneous disruption at Bab el-Mandeb and the Strait of Hormuz has opened a new front for the oil market and intensified supply-shortfall fears.

These developments have been among the main drivers pushing oil prices to a roughly six-week high.