United States Oil Fund (NYSE:USO) shares are climbing Thursday after Yemen’s Houthi rebels ignited a new flashpoint in the Middle East conflict, striking two Saudi tankers in the Red Sea.
- United States Oil Fund stock is showing exceptional strength. Why is USO stock surging?
Houthi Tanker Strikes Push Oil Higher as Trump Warns of Military Consequences
The attack on Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea sent energy prices sharply higher. Yemen’s Houthi movement claimed responsibility Wednesday for striking the Encelia and the Layla with drones and missiles, saying fires broke out on both vessels, according to the group’s SABA news agency, AP News reported.
The Saudi government confirmed the Encelia had been set ablaze and said all crew members were safe. It did not provide details on the Layla, and the claimed strike on that vessel has not been independently confirmed. The attack marked the rebels’ first confirmed strike on a vessel since they declared a blockade on ships loading or unloading at Saudi ports days earlier, a decision the group framed as a response to Riyadh’s own blockade on Yemen and a military strike on the airport serving the rebel-held capital of Sanaa. The Saudi-backed Yemeni government claimed responsibility for the airport strike.
President Donald Trump responded on Truth Social, putting both the Houthis and Iran on notice.
Trump said any repeat of the attacks would bring severe military consequences for the Houthis and that Washington would hold Tehran responsible, pointing to Iran’s role in backing the group.
USO Enters Overbought Territory
Momentum is carrying most of the load right now, and the setup is starting to look crowded. RSI sits at 73.15, firmly in overbought territory, a zone that often signals the move is getting stretched in the near term. That doesn’t imply the broader trend is damaged; it simply means the next push higher may require either a fresh catalyst or a brief cooling period that resets positioning without disrupting the larger uptrend. You can dig deeper into this dynamic with RSI signals.
The levels are clean and the market is likely to treat them that way.
- Resistance: $144.00 — a nearby round‑number ceiling where upside attempts often pause.
- Support: $127.00 — a prior pivot that also aligns with the mid‑term average cluster around $124–$126, an area where dip‑buyers typically want to see the tape stabilize rather than break.
Zooming out, the trend has been powerful. USO is up 88.45% over the past year and sits much closer to its 52‑week high at $154.08 than its 52‑week low at $65.98. The May swing high and July swing low frame the current move as a rebound leg that has now pushed into "everyone sees it" momentum territory—great when it keeps working, unforgiving when it doesn’t. If you want to explore how traders interpret these structures, check out trend analysis.
USO Shares Are Popping
USO Price Action: United States Oil Fund shares were up 7.22% at $141.16 at the time of publication on Thursday, according to Benzinga Pro.
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