Oil prices climbed towards $100 a barrel on Monday after Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi rebels attacked energy facilities in Saudi Arabia, halting operations at some sites and wounding more than 70 people. The rise reflects mounting concern that the region's oil and gas production, already disrupted by the ongoing war involving Iran, is facing fresh threats, with knock-on inflationary risks for the global economy just as central bankers weigh their next moves.

Brent crude rose above $98 a barrel, its highest since 24 July, after reports that Saudi Aramco facilities in Jizan, home to one of the kingdom's largest refineries, were struck. Iran separately threatened to impose a new maritime exclusion zone across the Persian Gulf if the US continued its "economic warfare", with shipping through the Strait of Hormuz already slowing to around seven vessels a day, down from roughly 130 before the war began. Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey and colleagues were due to face MPs later on Monday over the decision to hold interest rates at 3.75%, with questions expected on the inflationary impact of the conflict.