Oil prices jumped more than $3 on Tuesday after Saudi Arabia suspended oil loadings at its Red Sea port of Yanbu and Libya halted operations at three oil fields amid attacks by Iran-backed Houthis, raising concerns that global supply disruptions could persist, Reuters reported.
Brent crude futures rose $3.49, or 3.3%, to $109.20 a barrel at 1:20 p.m. ET, while US West Texas Intermediate futures gained $5.08, or 5.01%, to $106.46. Both contracts were on track for their highest close in nearly four months.
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Shipping industry sources told Reuters that oil loadings at Saudi Arabia's Yanbu export terminal had been suspended. The development followed reports that Riyadh had informed European customers that some late-September crude cargoes would be cancelled.
The disruption came after Iran-backed Houthi forces launched fresh attacks on Saudi Arabia on Monday. A Houthi attack on the kingdom's East-West Pipeline on Friday had already forced Saudi Arabia, the world's largest crude exporter, to shut the key export route.
Andy Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates, said the cancellation of Saudi crude shipments to Europe has strengthened expectations that European refiners will turn to US supplies, supporting WTI relative to Brent.
Traders have been buying WTI futures on expectations that disruptions to Saudi exports will last longer than expected, Lipow said. US refiners can switch between crude grades, potentially increasing demand for sweet crude such as WTI, he added.
Libya added to supply concerns as its National Oil Corporation said operations at three oil fields were suspended after protesting members of the Petroleum Facilities Guard shut a valve on the Hamada-Zawiya crude export pipeline. The NOC said it may declare force majeure if the valve remains closed or more fields are halted.
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Commodity vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz dropped to four on Monday from 10 a day earlier, preliminary Kpler data showed on Tuesday, adding to concerns over energy shipments.
"Fresh attacks by the Houthis targeting Saudi Arabia may be influencing oil market investors' expectations about the severity and duration of the conflict," said Hamad Hussain, senior climate and commodities economist at Capital Economics.
The Saudi pipeline disruption threatens up to 4% of global oil supply, according to Reuters. Buyers and traders said Saudi Arabia could exhaust crude available for export within days unless the pipeline resumes.
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright told CNBC on Tuesday that oil should be flowing through the pipeline within days. Goldman Sachs said repair assessments ranged from "very soon" to eight weeks.
Meanwhile, continued attacks on energy infrastructure in Russia and Ukraine pushed US diesel futures to a more than four-year intraday high, putting them on track for a record close.
Goldman Sachs said the attacks increased the probability of Brent rising above $120 a barrel if average Gulf oil output in 2027 remains 4 million barrels per day below pre-war levels. Russia and Ukraine also continued targeting energy infrastructure, while half of Russia's six major diesel-producing refineries significantly cut or halted output in September due to drone damage, according to Reuters calculations.
(Disclaimer: This article is based on inputs from agencies. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)
