Houthi fighters have taken control of the Bab el-Mandeb strait and Yemen's Red Sea coast, and Saudi Arabia has shut its main east-west oil pipeline — bad news for oil supplies, shipping, and anyone hoping inflation cools down.

• Saudi Arabia closed the pipeline that was supposed to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, after repeated drone attacks from Iraq made 746 miles of pipe impossible to defend.
• Houthi forces swept Yemen's entire Red Sea coast in about 18 hours and captured large amounts of American-made armored vehicles, artillery, and ammunition abandoned by retreating Saudi- and UAE-backed forces.
• With both the pipeline and the strait compromised, the world loses its backup routes for moving oil — that turns a temporary scare into a real supply problem.
• Shipping insurance and freight rates are already climbing, which pushes up the cost of oil, diesel, food, fertilizer, and metals all at once.
• The US has an aircraft carrier and destroyers posted nearby and Iran fired a ballistic missile at it last week, while Iran courts India and the BRICS bloc as an alternative to the dollar.

Outlook: Expect oil, diesel, and food prices to keep rising as the Red Sea route stays blocked, with a wider US–Iran clash still very much live.