image1
A picture shows a partial view of the Msaffah industrial district in the Emiarti capital Abu Dhabi on January 17, 2022. (By AFP)

Oil prices have hit their highest level since 2014 after Yemeni forces conducted a retaliatory attack deep inside the United Arab Emirates, raising supply concerns.

On Tuesday, Brent crude rose to $88.13 a barrel and US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude reached $85.74.

The latest developments came amid concerns about supplies from the oil-rich region after Yemeni forces intensified their attacks on the UAE, a member of the Saudi-led coalition waging a fatal war on Yemen.

"Reports of damage to fuel trucks and storage will concern oil market watchers," AFP cited Torbjorn Soltvedt of risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft as saying.

The Yemeni army on Monday launched an operation deep inside the United Arab Emirates in retaliation for its role in the Saudi-led war on the impoverished country.

Abu Dhabi police said three fuel tanker trucks had exploded in the industrial Musaffah area, near the storage facilities of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), and that a fire had also broken out at a construction site at Abu Dhabi International Airport.

Spokesman for the Yemeni Armed Forces Brigadier General Yahya Saree confirmed the retaliatory attack and said Yemeni troops had launched the military operation "deep inside the UAE."

The statement also warned foreign citizens and their companies, as well as other residents of the UAE to stay away from strategic sites and facilities for their own safety.

Saudi Arabia and a number of its regional allies - including the United Arab Emirates (UAE) - launched a brutal war against Yemen in March 2015.

The war was launched to eliminate Yemen’s Houthi Ansarullah movement and reinstall former Yemeni president Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, a staunch ally of Riyadh.

The war, accompanied by a tight siege, has failed to reach its goals, but it has killed hundreds of thousands of Yemeni people. The UN refers to the situation in Yemen as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

The Saudi war has also taken a heavy toll on the country’s infrastructure, destroying hospitals, schools, and factories.

Meanwhile, Yemeni forces have in recent months gone from strength to strength against the Saudi-led invaders and left Riyadh and its allies bogged down in Yemen.

Another factor in the latest jump in oil prices is optimism as worldwide restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic begin to ease, increasing demand.

Goldman Sachs says oil prices may hit $100 later this year.