Oil Prices Hit 4-Month High amid Concerns over Middle East Disruption

Oil prices have reached a four-and-a-half month high on April 27 amid concerns over disruption to supplies from the Middle East.

Brent crude oil is at $65.37 per barrel and has gained around $9 since last month.

A slowdown in US shale oil production and the conflict in Yemen have been cited as the main reasons for the rise in the oil price in recent weeks.

It comes as BP, Shell and Exxon Mobil are expected to report sharp falls in Q1 2015 earnings this week.

Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets, said: “Overall we are in an upwards trend and we do appear to have found a short-term base. There’s a good chance we could see $70 a barrel [for Brent] over the course of the next month or so.”

While Yemen itself is not among the biggest oil producers in the Middle East, Gulf producers ship oil along the Gulf of Aden on Yemen’s southern coast and through the narrow straits of Bab el-Mandeb, between Yemen and Djibouti.

As a result fighting in the region could create log jams in delivery.