Six crew members have been rescued and at least three others killed after a cargo ship was attacked by Yemen's Houthis and sank in the Red Sea, a European naval mission says.

In just days, Yemen’s Houthi rebels have begun a new, more violent campaign of attacks targeting ships in the Red Sea, sinking two of them and killing some of their crew.

Crude inventories rose by 7.1 million barrels to 426 million barrels in the week ended July 4, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a draw of 2.1 million barrels.