Oil prices rose on Tuesday after Iran sent a warship to the Red Sea after the United States destroyed Houthi boats. The situation in the vital waterway for global shipments remains tense. Oil prices jumped 1.5% in the first session of the new year, due to potential supply disruptions in the Middle East, hopes for strong demand during the holidays, and economic stimulus in China, the world's largest importer of crude oil. Iran announced on Monday that it had sent the destroyer Alborz through the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait without providing details of the warship's mission. A wider conflict could lead to the closure of vital waterways for transporting oil supplies, such as the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf.
