US and British warplanes carried out air strikes on positions belonging to the Ansar Allah Houthi group in Yemen (Reuters)

Houthi attacks in the Red Sea and strikes by the United States and Britain on the group's targets have disrupted ship traffic and pushed oil and gold prices higher, while affecting Suez Canal revenues.

Shipping companies change course

Shipping data from London Stock Exchange Group and global trade information platform Kepler showed that at least four oil tankers have diverted from the Red Sea since US and British strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen, amid growing fears of widening tensions.

The Houthis have been targeting commercial ships since late last year with attacks the group says are intended to support Palestinians amid Israel's war on the Gaza Strip. The attacks focused on the Bab al-Mandab Strait area.

In another sign of escalation, Iran on Thursday seized a tanker carrying Iraqi crude bound for Turkey. The incident occurred near the Strait of Hormuz, another vital shipping lane for world trade.

Houthi seizure of the cargo ship "Galaxy Leader" last November due to the repercussions of the war in Gaza (French)

The tankers Tuya, Diana-I, Stolt Zulu and Navigate Pride LHJ were seen turning midway to avoid the Red Sea on Friday, according to ship-tracking data.

One tanker, Tuya, a huge crude tanker capable of carrying up to two million barrels of oil, was empty, the data showed. The other three ships are fuel tankers.

A number of shipping companies in the past few weeks have already chosen to avoid the Red Sea region due to the growing risks.

Danish shipping group Torm said on Friday it had decided to temporarily halt all sailing operations across the southern Red Sea.

For its part, the shipping company Hafnia said on Friday that it had decided to immediately stop all ships heading towards or near the Bab al-Mandab Strait.

The Hafnia statement said the decision was taken following advice from the joint naval forces to stay away from the area after US-British air strikes against Yemen's Houthi group.

Stena Balk Shipping followed suit, which reported Reuters it had halted transit in the Red Sea early Friday.

Cautious welcome

Two major shipping companies, Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd, welcomed the measures aimed at securing the region, but the companies did not say whether the U.S.-British strikes would be enough to restore shipping operations leading to the Suez Canal, the fastest route between Asia and Europe and through which about 12 percent of the world's container carriers pass.

German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd reported that Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea have cost them tens of millions of dollars in additional monthly costs.

A spokesman for the group said the attacks "affect the entire industry and us too significantly," and did not assess the US- and British-led international military strikes against Houthi positions, but said: "We welcome measures that make it safe to pass through the Red Sea again."

Reuters said the Intertanker Association had distributed a memorandum to its members saying the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) were warning all ships to "stay a long distance from Bab al-Mandab".

Intertanko added that "the threat period for cargo operations is expected to last several days." About 10 percent of global trade passes through the Red Sea.

Oil markets in the eye of the storm

Oil prices jumped 4 percent as oil tankers diverted from the Red Sea after air and naval strikes by the United States and Britain on Houthi targets in Yemen in response to attacks by the group since late last year.

Oil prices jumped more than 4%, and Brent traded above $80 due to high geopolitical risks before falling to around $78.3.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude also rose 4% above $75, before retreating to settle close to $73 in evening trading.

ING analysts said in a note that more than 20 million barrels per day of oil move through the Strait of Hormuz, equivalent to about 20 percent of global consumption.

Gold benefits

Gold prices rose on Friday due to air strikes on Yemen, which led to a rise in the attractiveness of the precious yellow metal as a safe haven.

By 20.33 GMT on Friday, spot gold was up 0.9 percent at $2046,62.<> an ounce.

U.S. gold futures rose about 2% to $2050,90.<>.

Kelvin Wong, senior market analyst for Asia Pacific at Oanda, said attention would be focused on rising geopolitical tensions, which he sees as a degree escalates it "supports gold prices above the 50-day moving average of $2015,<>."

The number of ships transiting the Suez Canal has decreased to 544 ships so far (Al Jazeera)

Suez Canal suffers

The head of the Suez Canal Authority, Osama Rabie, said that the canal's revenue in dollars has fallen 40% since the beginning of the year compared to 2023, after Houthi attacks in Yemen on ships bound for Israel diverted their sailing away from this corridor.

Rabie told a television program that ship traffic fell 30 percent from Jan. 11 to Jan. <> year-on-year.

He explained that the number of ships transiting the Suez Canal has decreased to 544 ships so far this year, compared to 777 ships in the same period last year.

Source: Agencies