The Middle East conflict is widening as Houthi fighters push toward Saudi-backed positions in Yemen, and oil prices are climbing fast — bad news for drivers, the global economy, and Saudi Arabia.

• Large Houthi convoys of armed pickups are massing in the desert to march on Marib, the last big government-held city in northern Yemen.
• With shipping threatened at both the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb, oil is pushing toward $120 a barrel, and physical cargoes are trading even higher.
• Saudi Arabia has asked Trump for military help and been turned down so far, though US involvement looks hard to avoid since Saudi oil exports are heading for a 30-year low.
• The stated goals of the US-Iran war — a quick win, a broken Iranian missile and nuclear program — have not happened, and the straits are now partly closed instead.
• Trump is blaming Ukraine's strikes on Russian refineries for rising diesel prices while lifting tariffs on Irish whiskey during a trip to his golf resort.

Outlook: Expect oil and diesel to keep rising and pressure on Washington to intervene in Yemen to grow, with no diplomatic breakthrough in sight.