Oil prices rose in Asia on Wednesday morning as persistent tensions in the Middle East kept fears of supply disruptions in the region elevated.
Attacks by Houthi rebels damaged two airports in southern Saudi Arabia near the border with Yemen, the kingdom said Tuesday. The attacks came after the kingdom and its allies in Yemen launched a counteroffensive seeking to retake territory along the Red Sea.
Saudi Arabia's General Authority of Civil Aviation said King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Airport and Najran International Airport were damaged in the strikes. Three people were wounded, the agency said. The escalation in fighting between the Houthis and Saudia Arabia threatens to further disrupt oil supplies through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, a vital chokepoint in the global energy network.
"The risks to energy infrastructure and oil tankers remained high," ANZ Research analysts said in a note. "Any renewed disruptions to oil flows from the Middle East are likely to cause a sharp reaction in the oil market. Buffers are running thin, with the market still reliant on increasingly depleted stockpiles to keep it balanced," the analysts added.
Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures rose 1.1% to $90.44 per barrel and front-month Brent crude oil futures gained 1.0% to $101.62 a barrel, ICE data showed.
Equity markets across Asia-Pacific declined amid possible position adjustments, but could be supported by mild risk-on sentiment following Wall Street's overnight gains.
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.4%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was down 0.6% and Singapore's FTSE Straits Times Index dropped 0.8%. South Korea's Kospi lost 0.8% after swinging between mild gains and losses.
Risk sentiment has improved, partly owing to easing U.S. Treasury yields on Tuesday, UOB Global Economics & Markets Research said in a note. "Technology and AI-related stocks continued to lead the [Wall Street] rally, while investors took comfort from a moderation in bond market volatility after the recent surge in yields," UOB added.
Yields on Asian government bonds were mixed. The yield on Japan's 10-year government bonds was flat at 3.095%, according to data provider Quick. Yields on Australia's 10-year sovereign debt were steady at 5.4000%, while those on New Zealand's 10-year government bonds were down 1 basis point at 5.105%, FactSet data showed.
U.S. Treasurys pared some of Tuesday's yield declines, with the yield on 10-year Treasurys 3 basis points higher at 5.308% in Asian trading. Bond yields move inversely to prices.