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Oil prices increase on renewed attacks in Middle East
Renewed Houthi strikes and Gulf of Mexico storm curbs tightened supply fears, with Brent at $101.88 and WTI at $89.99, traders said.
On Wednesday, Brent crude oil rose 1.3% to $101.88 as traders weighed renewed Houthi rebel strikes in Saudi Arabia against storm-driven production outages in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.
Houthis claimed to launch ballistic missiles and drones at military facilities and airports—including King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Jazan and Najran International Airport—on Tuesday, spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree said.
Operators curtailed 185,120 barrels of daily crude—equal to 9.2% of Gulf production—after forecasters warned the storm could strengthen into the season's first Atlantic hurricane within 48 hours.
Twelve mariners, including 11 Indian nationals, were wounded on the Panama-flagged MT On Peace, while the EIA raised its fourth-quarter Brent forecast by $14 to $105 a barrel.
Analysts at ING described a "tug-of-war" between improving regional supplies and lingering threats, as global oil inventories dropped 1.9 million barrels a day in the third quarter.