Red Sea attacks push global oil buyers to go local

Global oil buyers are increasingly turning to local markets, due to the Houthi attacks on Israel-linked ships in the Red Sea and the subsequent rise in shipping costs, according to a Bloomberg report.

The major shipping lines have largely abandoned the vital trade route through the Suez Canal and opted for the longer journey around the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, which increased costs, heightened concerns about global inflation, while depriving Egypt of important revenues from Suez.

Across Europe, some refiners abandoned buying Iraqi crude last month, traders told Bloomberg, turning instead to buying cargoes from the North Sea and Guyana.

In Asia, a jump in demand for Abu Dhabi’s Murban crude led to a spike in spot prices in mid-January, and flows from Kazakhstan to Asia are down sharply.

Malaysia: ‘The problem is not the Houthis, it’s Israel’s aggression against Gaza’