Yemen's Houthis say attacks on Saudi Arabia's King Khalid airport will continue

Hours after Saudi Arabia announced that flights had resumed despite repeated Houthi attacks, Yemen's Houthis said on Sunday that they would continue targeting the kingdom's King Khalid Airport in Riyadh, according to Reuters.

Airlines, airport staff and travellers were urged to avoid the facility by Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree, who vowed it would "never be safe". Claiming that the airport strike had hit its target, Saree said the group had "conducted three military operations with dozens of ballistic missiles,".

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Other sites attacked by the militant group included King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, as well as Najran airport and Khamis Mushait airbase.

Over the weekend, a Saudi-led coalition said it had intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles that Yemen's Houthis had fired towards Taif and Yanbu.

WTI Oil: Key Facts and Price Drivers

Traded on international markets, WTI Oil takes its name from West Texas Intermediate and ranks alongside Brent and Dubai Crude as one of the three major crude oil types. Its relatively low gravity earns it the description “light”, while its low sulphur content makes it “sweet”. This high-quality oil is regarded as easy to refine. Sourced in the United States, it is distributed through the Cushing hub, known as “The Pipeline Crossroads of the World”. WTI serves as an oil market benchmark, with its price regularly cited by the media.

Supply and demand underpin WTI Oil prices, as they do those of other assets. Stronger global growth can therefore lift demand, while weaker growth can have the reverse effect. On the supply side, disruption from political instability, wars and sanctions can affect prices, as can decisions by OPEC, the group of major oil-producing countries. Because oil is traded predominantly in US Dollars, the currency's value also matters for WTI crude: a weaker US Dollar can make oil more affordable, while a stronger dollar can do the opposite.

WTI Oil prices respond to the weekly oil inventory reports from the American Petroleum Institute (API) and the Energy Information Agency (EIA), as changes in stocks reveal shifts in supply and demand. A decline in inventories can signal stronger demand and push prices higher; a build-up can point to greater supply and weigh on prices. The API releases its report every Tuesday, followed by the EIA the next day. The two sets of results tend to be similar, coming within 1% of one another 75% of the time. As the EIA is a government agency, its figures are regarded as more reliable.

At meetings held twice a year, the 12 oil-producing nations that make up OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) jointly set production quotas for member countries. These decisions frequently influence WTI Oil prices: lower quotas can restrict supply and lift prices, whereas increased production has the reverse effect. The broader OPEC+ grouping brings together OPEC and ten additional non-OPEC members, of which Russia is the most notable.