Brent Crude Settles at $116.72, Its Highest Since April, as Houthi Strikes and a UAE Oil Spill Rattle Supply

Brent crude futures settled at $116.72 a barrel on Friday, up $3.55, or 3.14 percent, their highest settlement since April 29, after Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia and an oil spill off the United Arab Emirates raised concern about further disruption to Middle East energy supplies. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude closed at $103.27 a barrel, up $3.80, or 3.8 percent. For the week, Brent finished up 6 percent and WTI ended 2.3 percent higher, according to Reuters.

“Fears of supply disruptions drove the advance after Iranian-backed Houthi rebels carried out a series of attacks across Saudi Arabia, including on energy infrastructure,” Adam Turnquist, chief cross-asset strategist for LPL Financial, said. On Thursday, Saudi Aramco ordered the evacuation of its headquarters in Dhahran, on the Gulf near Bahrain, Reuters reported. The United Arab Emirates Ministry of Climate Change and Environment said an oil spill from a tanker was detected off the coast of Umm Al Quwain; it did not say what caused the spill, and authorities have not identified the tanker involved.

Reserve releases follow the price jump

The U.S. Department of Energy said it had authorized an emergency exchange of up to 400,000 barrels of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to address a supply disruption affecting Phillips 66’s Lake Charles refinery in Louisiana. The reserve is already at its lowest level since 1982, after earlier draws during the U.S. war with Iran, Reuters reported. Germany’s national oil stockpiling agency, EBV, circulated a tender to sell diesel, heating oil and crude oil volumes from strategic reserves, its first such release since G7 countries agreed to do so at the start of October.

Ship tracking data showed the first Russian diesel bound for the United States since Moscow and Washington reached an export agreement was aboard a tanker heading for New York. President Donald Trump announced the deal this month as part of efforts to bring down diesel prices ahead of the midterm elections on November 3. In Libya, the head of the National Oil Corp told Reuters that a pipeline valve from the Hamada and Tahara oilfields to Zawiya port had been shut, and production at both fields fell.

October has been the worst month for attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and nearby waterways since 2017, according to data compiled by a Washington-based think tank that has tracked maritime security incidents worldwide. “The market is concerned about these continued Iranian attacks on tankers that we’ve seen increase over the last week,” Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates, said. President Donald Trump said on Friday the United States could end the war with Iran quickly, but said perhaps Washington should allow the conflict to gradually wind down.

Reporting based on coverage by Reuters and Business Post.