Oil hits 5-month high as Houthi attacks stoke supply fears
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Oil products tanker Sino Source from Argentina, left, is moored at the berth of St. Petersburg Oil Terminal, in the Port of St. Petersburg, Russia, Thursday. EPA-Yonhap
NEW YORK — Oil prices climbed about 2 percent to a five-month high on Thursday after Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia stoked concerns of further disruption to energy supplies from the key exporting region.
Brent futures rose $2.42, or 2.2 percent, to $111.24 a barrel at 10:45 a.m. EDT (1445 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose $1.14, or 1.2 percent, to $98.29.
That drove Brent into technically overbought territory for a third time in a week and set for its highest close since May 18.
Saudi Aramco has told staff to evacuate its headquarters in Dhahran on the Gulf near Bahrain, Reuters reported, as fighting between the world’s largest crude exporter and Yemen’s Houthis intensifies.
Clashes between the Houthis and a Saudi-led coalition that backs Yemen’s internationally recognised government have raged since the Iran-aligned group pushed towards Bab el-Mandeb, a shipping chokepoint at the Red Sea’s mouth.
“Reports of Middle East crude oil exports exceeding pre-conflict levels are more than countered by attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz and the Houthi strikes on Saudi Arabia and on its oil infrastructure,” PVM Oil analyst Tamas Varga said.
“No de-escalation is anticipated until the U.S. midterm elections, which should keep oil prices elevated.”
Morgan Stanley analysts estimated that Middle East crude oil exports were around 17 million barrels per day last week. Crude exports from the region averaged about 18 million bpd in the 12 months before the start of the Iran war, according to Kpler.
In the US, refiner Valero Energy posted its highest-ever quarterly profit, beating Wall Street expectations, as disruptions caused by the Middle East conflict sent refining margins soaring during the third quarter.
Around the world
Russia pounded Kyiv with ballistic missiles and Ukraine sent hundreds of drones towards Moscow overnight as the two sides kept up a barrage despite the latest U.S. push to end the war.
Russia said on Wednesday it was ready to resume US-mediated talks with Ukraine next month, after President Vladimir Putin hosted U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff for talks in St Petersburg.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he hoped negotiations, which would be the first since February, would take place early in November.
Russia was the world’s third-biggest crude oil producer behind the U.S. and Saudi Arabia in 2025, U.S. energy data showed. Sanctions designed to keep Russian energy out of global markets after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine have helped support oil prices.
Any deal to end the war which began with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 could allow Russia to export more.
Senior Russian political and energy officials urged the European Union on Thursday to reconsider its plans to ban imports of Russian LNG, arguing the bloc’s low storage levels had put Europe in a precarious position.
The European Parliament, meanwhile, approved a three-year delay to EU methane emissions rules for oil and gas imports, after pressure from governments including France and the US.
In Libya, an oil pipeline valve from the Hamada and Tahara oilfields to Zawiya port has been shut, leading to a reduction in production at both fields, the head of the National Oil Corporation told Reuters on Thursday.
