Oil prices surged on Thursday, while stocks fell sharply, as Saudi Arabia and its allies in the Middle East launched airstrikes against Houthi rebel forces in Yemen. The abrupt intensification of the crisis surprised markets. Oil prices rose more than 5% in early European morning trade, before slipping back slightly, while stocks in Europe more broadly, and the Gulf states more specifically, were lower. The escalation of the conflict came hours after Yemen’s President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi fled the country as the Iranian-supported militants advanced on the southern port city. The fresh developments threaten to make Yemen the focal point of the clash between Iran and […]