Saudi Arabia said it shot down a Houthi drone near Mecca, while the Houthis claimed to have downed a Saudi fighter jet, as fighting between the two sides intensifies amid the wider regional war. The clashes have fuelled fears of a fresh global oil supply crisis after Houthi forces seized the strategic Greater and Lesser Hanish islands in the southern Red Sea and struck a key Saudi pipeline, developments that matter because they threaten to further disrupt oil exports and drive up prices worldwide.

The Houthis denied targeting Mecca itself, insisting their strikes hit oil facilities and military bases away from sacred sites, while Saudi officials condemned the attempted attack as a deliberate provocation against Muslims. Brent crude rose to $106.92 a barrel and US diesel topped $6 a gallon, while UK inflation climbed to 3.1 per cent partly due to the conflict's impact on fuel and airfare costs. Saudi Arabia's 1,200km East-West Pipeline, which normally moves 2.6 to 4 million barrels of oil a day, was shut down after a drone attack blamed on Iranian-backed militias, with repairs expected to take three to five weeks.