Key points
- Brent settled down 31 cents, or 0.3%, at $109.55 a barrel on Monday.
- WTI rose 2.2% to $103.66, the highest settlement since Sept. 15, in thin expiry trade.
- Gulf crude flows averaged about 8.5 million barrels a day last week, down from over 20 million.
Oil prices were mixed on Monday after attacks by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis on a Yemeni military training camp and renewed strikes on Saudi energy, airport and military facilities.
Brent crude futures settled 31 cents lower at $109.55 a barrel, after falling more than $3 earlier as investors booked profits following last week’s rally to a five-month high.
US West Texas Intermediate gained $2.25 to $103.66, its highest settlement since Sept. 15. However, trading was thin ahead of the Oct. 20 expiry of the front-month contract. The more active December contract settled at $98.54, down 0.5%.
Houthi claims and Hormuz risks
The Houthis said they attacked an Aramco facility in Yanbu, the Shaybah oilfield, and airports in Riyadh and Abha. Saudi authorities did not immediately confirm the claims, and Reuters could not verify them.
Earlier, 53 people were killed and 200 injured in a Houthi attack on a Yemeni government training camp in Shabwa province.
Separately, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said an oil tanker exploded after hitting a naval mine in the southern Strait of Hormuz on Sunday.
Kpler said Gulf crude flows fell to a seven-day average of about 8.5 million barrels a day last week, from more than 20 million, with at least 10 incidents involving commercial vessels.
Politics and supply
SEB analyst Bjarne Schieldrop said any rise in Hormuz exports may prove short-lived, since Iran could escalate attacks before the Nov. 3 US midterms. Egypt said it stands ready to back Saudi Arabia, though its parliament delayed a vote on authorizing troops until Oct. 26.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump’s waiver of some Russia energy sanctions raised the prospect of more Russian fuel, but analysts said uncertainty over its duration limits confidence. OPEC output rose in September, led by Saudi Arabia and Iraq.
