Brent crude remained above $111 a barrel as oil prices added to earlier gains following reports of further Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, OilPrice.com reported. The outlet put Brent at $111.10 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate at $98.98 at the time of its report, with both benchmarks roughly 2% higher than on Wednesday. The gains followed strikes by Yemen’s Houthis on a Saudi oil field and an international airport.
Security concerns also deepened after the US federal government ordered non-emergency personnel to leave Saudi Arabia. OilPrice.com said the instruction reinforced unease about stability in a major oil-producing region. Separately, Iranian media reported explosions in southern Iran, although those accounts did not identify their cause or nature. The reports added to the regional security developments accompanying the rise in crude prices.
Diplomatic statements offered little indication of an imminent settlement. In an opinion article for the Financial Times, Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araqchi said his country was prepared to defend itself and expressed deep distrust of Washington’s stated interest in peace, according to OilPrice.com. He cited two instances in which the US had attacked Iran during nuclear negotiations. His comments suggested limited prospects for a peace agreement.
Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian separately told media that negotiations could not move forward while the US maintained a blockade on Iran and continued to threaten the country. OilPrice.com characterised peace prospects as distant, with consequences for oil and gas trade. Those diplomatic obstacles formed part of the backdrop to the latest benchmark price gains.
On supply, ING commodity analysts highlighted an update from Kuwait Petroleum Corp’s chief executive showing that Kuwaiti oil production had exceeded 2 million barrels a day. The improvement in crude output did not extend to a comparable recovery in fuels: OilPrice.com reported that fuel production remained constrained, with flows still substantially below pre-war levels. The Kuwaiti update therefore presented a mixed picture of crude availability and fuel supply.