LONDON / ConSynSer / – Brent crude futures rose $1.21 to $110 a barrel on Wednesday, October 21, Reuters reported, as Middle East tensions kept oil markets on edge. US West Texas Intermediate crude climbed by more than $1 to $99 a barrel. Fresh incidents involving tankers and Saudi energy facilities lifted prices early in the session. Gains were later tempered by evidence that Gulf export flows are recovering. Brent is trading nearly 80% higher than a year earlier.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said naval mines stopped three tankers that were using routes Tehran had not authorized. A vessel was hit near Oman, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations agency. Yemen’s Houthi movement said it targeted Saudi Aramco sites in Yanbu and the Shaybah oilfield. It also claimed attacks on airports in Riyadh and Abha. The events heightened fears for supply passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
Trading remained choppy throughout the day. Brent gave back its gains at one stage and slipped below $108 a barrel. WTI briefly reached $100 before easing to below $98. Freight rates in the Persian Gulf stayed at record highs, adding upward pressure. Brent has climbed roughly 8% over the past month. Prices had rebounded after Brent slid to $100.34 in September. The benchmark remains well above the $100 level it tested then.
Hormuz shipments near prewar levels
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said shipments through the Strait of Hormuz were nearing prewar levels. Data from tanker trackers Kpler and Vortexa showed Middle East crude exports rising since the summer. Producers have stepped up shuttle shipments through Hormuz and ship-to-ship transfers in the Gulf of Oman. Saudi Arabia’s crude exports rose 7.9% in August, reaching their highest level since March. Those flows helped cap Wednesday’s rally.
Traders also assessed fresh US inventory figures. Crude stocks fell by just over 3 million barrels last week, according to the Energy Information Administration. That was smaller than the 4.9 million-barrel draw reported earlier by the American Petroleum Institute. Weekly US crude output slipped to about 13.27 million barrels per day from 13.68 million a week earlier. The data offered a mixed signal on US supply.
Diesel deal and new drone strike
Russia was expected to send its first diesel cargo to the United States on Thursday under a deal between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump suspended Graham Act penalties on Russia last week, removing tariffs that would have hit Russian fuel products. Ukraine has stepped up drone attacks on Russian oil infrastructure. Trading Economics said the strikes signal Kyiv’s aim of blocking any expansion of Moscow’s diesel exports.
Oil extended gains on Thursday, October 22, after a drone strike on Saudi Aramco’s Shaybah oil field killed two people. Brent climbed above $111 a barrel, and WTI rose above $99. Washington also told some personnel and their families to leave US embassies in Saudi Arabia. Traders continue to track Gulf shipping, Saudi supply and Russian fuel exports for clues on the next move in prices.