Oil prices surged as Houthi rebel threats to Red Sea shipping routes rattled global energy markets. June Goh from Sparta Commodities warned that any disruption through the Bab el-Mandeb strait would be “catastrophic” for regional oil supplies, potentially triggering further Saudi production cuts. Brent crude jumped 3.3% to $116.28 a barrel, while WTI climbed 2.3% to $101.90.

European natural gas prices also spiked as Middle East conflict heightened concerns over LNG availability before summer storage season. An outage at Chevron’s Wheatstone LNG facility in Australia removed additional supply, tightening the market. Dutch TTF front-month contracts rose 2% to 55.25 euros per megawatt-hour. ING analysts warned that prolonged disruptions could slow European storage injections and intensify competition for spot LNG cargoes.

Meanwhile, Ashok Leyland received a bullish upgrade from Axis Securities, which named the Indian commercial vehicle maker its pick of the week with a buy rating and INR180.00 target price. Analyst Uttam Kumar Srimal cited improving freight rates, operator profitability, and demand recovery following India’s GST cut. Despite the positive outlook, shares fell 4.7% to INR155.40.