Freight, oil climb as Red Sea attacks shut down shipping

Jenny Wiggins, Jacob Greber, Sarah Jones and Mark Mulligan

Dec 19, 2023 – 6.52pm

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The Albanese government is under growing pressure to explain why it is not providing more help to the US and its allies as intensifying attacks from Iran-backed Houthi rebels shut down shipping in the Red Sea.

The rebel attacks drove a spike in energy prices on Tuesday and hastened a US-led regional security response, dubbed Operation Prosperity Guardian, to a dangerous escalation of the Israel-Hamas war.

Jenny Wiggins writes on business, specialising in infrastructure, telecommunications and transport.

Jacob Greber was The Australian Financial Review’s senior political correspondent.

Sarah Jones is the Financial Review’s markets editor based in the Sydney newsroom. She has covered financial markets, economics and asset management for more than two decades including 12 years for Bloomberg in London.

Mark Mulligan is the world editor and a former markets and economics writer. He was a Financial Times correspondent.