Brent crude held above $111 per barrel as the Houthis struck more Saudi targets and the U.S. ordered non-emergency personnel out of the kingdom. Iran's navy claimed hits on seven vessels in the Persian Gulf, while Iranian officials signaled little prospect of peace.
Brent crude kept above $111 per barrel after reports of further Houthi attacks on Saudi targets. An order for non-emergency personnel in the kingdom to leave, issued by the U.S. federal government, added to the perception of an unstable security situation in a key oil region.
Oil rises about 2% after Houthi strike on Saudi oil field
At the time of writing, Brent traded at $111.10 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate at $98.98, both up around 2% from Wednesday. The Yemeni Houthis had struck an oil field in Saudi Arabia and another international airport.
On Wednesday, two people were killed and two others injured by debris from intercepted drones near a processing plant at the Shaybah field, one of the biggest oilfields in Saudi Arabia. However, operations at the field and its processing facilities remain unaffected. The attack still rattled markets amid concerns about potential disruption to Saudi supply, just as the Kingdom has largely restored its exports via the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea.
Iran claims ship hits and rules out trust in U.S. peace talk
The IRGC Navy on Thursday claimed that seven vessels, including oil tankers, were either hit by Iranian forces or struck mines in the Persian Gulf over the past day. It said its forces had tracked and hit four tankers carrying out oil transfers in the northern Persian Gulf, while three other vessels hit mines west of the Strait of Hormuz.
Meanwhile, Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araqchi, in an op-ed for the Financial Times, said Iran was ready to defend itself and suggested the chances of a peace deal are slim. President Masoud Pezeshkian told media that peace talks could not proceed while the United States had a blockade on Iran and issued threats against the country.
Supply news from Kuwait was mixed. ING's commodity analysts noted a Kuwaiti update showing daily oil production topping 2 million barrels. However, the update from the chief executive of Kuwait Petroleum Corp also mentioned that fuel production flows remain significantly lower than before the war.
The Houthis say they are responding to the offensive of the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, which is seeking to reclaim territory in the southwest on the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
Sources: Investing.com, Investing.com
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