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Oil prices jumped in Asia today after Saudi Arabian jets struck rebel targets in Yemen, with fears growing that a spiralling crisis in the country could threaten key crude producers in the Middle East.
US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for May delivery surged $2.28 to $51.49 while Brent crude for May rose $2.46 to $58.94 in late-morning trade.
WTI advanced $1.70 while Brent gained $1.37 yesterday following news that Yemen President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi was rushed to a "secure location" after a warplane attacked his presidential complex.
Yemen borders major oil producer Saudi Arabia, which yesterday launched the strikes against Huthi rebels in a bid to help save Yemen's embattled leader as the country teetered on the brink of civil war.
Yemen has been gripped by growing turmoil since the Shiite rebels launched a power takeover in Sanaa in February.
"The geopolitical tensions in Yemen are pushing prices higher," Daniel Ang, an investment analyst with Phillip Futures in Singapore, told AFP.
"Yemen is not a big producer but it is a trade hub in the region so tensions over there could cause a disruption in the trading activities for energy products in the region."
Singapore's United Overseas Bank said the market is concerned that "political instability in Yemen could threaten key Middle Eastern petroleum producers".
The turmoil has overshadowed the effect of rising US crude supplies, which added another 8.2 million barrels in the week ending March 20, analysts said.
World oil prices have collapsed by about 60% since June, with the strong US production exacerbating elevated output by the OPEC cartel.
