Brent Turns Higher, US Crude Pares Losses on Yemen Conflict

Brent crude turned higher and U.S. crude pared losses on news that a tribal group made up of former Al Qaeda militants took control of a major southern oil terminal in Yemen after military forces protecting it withdrew from the site.

The terminal is one of the major hubs for the Hadramout region exporting an average of 120,000 to 140,000 barrels per day of crude from fields in the area.

Brent June crude was up 10 cents at $63.42 a barrel at 1:04 p.m. EDT (1704 GMT), having reached $63.54, a front-month Brent 2015 peak after slipping to $62.

U.S. May crude was down 10 cents at $56.29, having fallen to $55.07.

(Reporting by Robert Gibbons; Editing by Chris Reese)