Brent crude held above $111 a barrel as oil prices extended gains following reports of fresh Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, according to OilPrice. The outlet reported that Yemen’s Houthis had struck a Saudi oil field and an international airport, adding to concerns over security in a major oil-producing region.
At the time of the report, Brent was trading at $111.10 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate at $98.98, with both benchmarks roughly 2% higher than on Wednesday. A US federal government order for non-emergency personnel to leave Saudi Arabia also reinforced perceptions of regional instability, OilPrice said. The price gains came alongside further reports of unrest and statements highlighting the difficulties facing diplomacy.
Iranian media reported explosions in southern Iran but gave no details about their cause or nature. Separately, Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araqchi used an opinion article in the Financial Times to stress that Iran was prepared to defend itself. OilPrice characterised his remarks as signalling limited prospects for a peace agreement. Araqchi expressed deep distrust of Washington’s stated interest in peace, citing two occasions on which he said the United States had attacked Iran during nuclear negotiations.
Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian also set out obstacles to talks. He told media that negotiations could not move forward while the United States maintained a blockade on Iran and continued to threaten the country. OilPrice said those positions left a regional peace settlement looking distant, with consequences for oil and gas trade.
On supply, ING commodity analysts highlighted an update from Kuwait Petroleum Corp’s chief executive showing Kuwaiti oil production above 2 million barrels a day. However, the improvement in crude output was accompanied by continuing difficulties in fuel production. According to OilPrice’s account of the update, fuel flows remained substantially below their pre-war levels, tempering the positive production news.