Oil prices surge after Saudi air strikes in Yemen

London

BRENT crude oil soared more than 4 per cent towards US$59 a barrel on Thursday after Saudi Arabia and its Gulf Arab allies began a military operation in Yemen, which sits on a key shipping passage between Europe and the Arab Gulf.

The air strikes against Houthi rebels, who have driven the president from Yemen's capital Sanaa, could stoke concerns about the security of Middle East oil shipments if the conflict widens.