Oil Perks Up as Red Sea Tensions Spark Investor Jitters

A container ship crosses an oil platform at the Gulf of Suez towards the Red Sea before entering the Suez Canal, outside of Cairo, Egypt, on Sept. 1, 2020. Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters

LONDON—Global oil benchmark Brent topped $80 a barrel on Wednesday amid jitters over global trade disruption and geopolitical tensions in the Middle East following attacks on ships by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi forces in the Red Sea.

Brent crude futures rose 89 cents, or 1.1 percent, at $80.12 a barrel by 1101 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude climbed 93 cents, or 1.3 percent, to $74.87 a barrel.