LONDON: Oil prices fell Friday after spiking the previous day as Saudi Arabian jets struck rebel targets in Yemen, sparking supply fears in the crude-rich Middle East.

Brent North Sea crude for delivery in May sank 63 cents to $58.56 a barrel in London midday deals.

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for May slid 81 cents to $50.62 a barrel.

“Oil prices ... are shedding some of the strong gains they had achieved over the two previous days,” said Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch.

Prices rose sharply on Wednesday and Thursday after a Saudi Arabia-led coalition bombed Huthi Shiite rebels in support of Yemen’s embattled President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi.

WTI struck a one-month high of $52.48 and Brent jumped to a March 9 peak of $59.78 on Thursday. However, the market has since pulled lower owing to no disruption to oil supplies.

Yemen is bordered by key Middle East oil producers Saudi Arabia and Oman.

“Oil prices have cooled ... as the initial panic over the consequences of Saudi Arabia’s military action in Yemen and the harm it might cause its oil distribution have failed to materialise,” added analyst Alistair McCaig at traders IG.

Yemen has been gripped by turmoil since the Shiite rebels launched a power takeover in Sanaa in February.

Published in Dawn, March 28th, 2015

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