{"text":[[{"start":8.4,"text":"The price of oil hit a five-month high following reports by Saudi Arabian-led military forces that they had destroyed ballistic missiles fired at some of the kingdom’s main energy hubs."}],[{"start":19.950000000000003,"text":"Brent crude, the international benchmark, settled 3.7 per cent higher on Friday at $109.86 a barrel after earlier hitting $110 for the first time since May, while US marker West Texas Intermediate topped $100 a barrel for the first time in a month, settling up 3.5 per cent at $101.41 a barrel on Friday. "}],[{"start":44.1,"text":"The latest price surge comes after months of anxiety around the world about high fuel costs triggered by Donald Trump’s Iran war, launched in February — and just weeks before US midterm elections."}],[{"start":57,"text":"Analysts warned that a deepening Middle East crisis was now looming over oil markets. Iranian attacks against ships in the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint out of the Gulf, have increased over the past week, while Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels have stepped up attacks against Saudi Arabia, including a missile strike on the headquarters of state oil company Saudi Aramco. "}],[{"start":79.95,"text":"Helima Croft, global head of commodity strategy at RBC Capital Markets, said: “The ongoing Houthi missile attacks on Saudi Arabia prove that we are nowhere near normal in the Middle East and that the recent rise in oil exports was not a leading indicator of an off-ramp to this metastasising crisis.” "}],[{"start":99.45,"text":"Croft added: “It is hard to make the case that any energy facility is secure in the current threat environment and hence the very real question about whether Washington will have to become more active in this second front.”"}],[{"start":null,"text":"
"}],[{"start":111.95,"text":"Trump has moved to contain the political fallout of soaring diesel and petrol prices just weeks ahead of November’s elections by seeking to import fuel from Russia and potentially easing sanctions on “dark fleet” vessels."}],[{"start":125.05,"text":"American voters are anxious about the new burst of inflation sparked by his war, according to polls. Growing street demonstrations have also taken place in Europe, Asia and Latin America in protest at high fuel costs."}],[{"start":139.9,"text":"The Riyadh-led Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen earlier on Friday claimed its troops had intercepted a ballistic missile launched towards Saudi Arabia’s Yanbu, one of the kingdom’s largest oil refining and petrochemical centres. Coalition spokesperson Turki al-Maliki said its forces had also destroyed two cruise missiles over the Red Sea and three drones in the southern and Riyadh regions."}],[{"start":164.75,"text":"Schreiner Parker, analyst at Rystad Energy, said Houthi attacks on Yanbu were particularly concerning given its critical role in facilitating crude exports. "}],[{"start":175.05,"text":"“A lot of Saudi oil is being piped through the East-West pipeline because of the attacks on tankers through the Strait of Hormuz. That oil is being offloaded at Yanbu, which makes it a sensitive target,” he said."}],[{"start":188.65,"text":"Data visualisation by Vanessa Brown"}],[{"start":199.20000000000002,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1792203050_5237.mp3"}