The world’s largest shipping firms are continuing to pause shipments through the Red Sea after attacks by Houthi rebels in the crucial international trade route. With container ships being diverted around the Cape of Good Hope on the southern tip of Africa – adding thousands of miles to journeys – the disruption is driving up the cost of shipments from Asia to Europe, raising the prospect of a renewed inflation shock for the world economy. What is happening in the Red Sea? Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have significantly stepped up a campaign of attacks against commercial vessels in the Bab-el-Mandeb strait between the Arabian…
