Energy
Brent oil touches $110 a barrel for the first time since May
By the newsroom · · 2 min read · ▶ 0:43
The essentials
- Brent touched $110 a barrel for the first time since May on Friday, Oct. 16.[1]
- Brent crude futures settled at $109.86, up 3.7%, the highest since May 19.[1]
- Saudi Arabia intercepted several missiles fired over the Red Sea, including one that was heading toward the oil export terminal Yanbu.[2]
- Diesel cost an average of $6.33 a gallon in the U.S. on Friday, more than 70% above the same period last year, according to AAA data.[2]
What happened
Brent futures hit a session high of $110 per barrel for the first time since May before easing slightly to close at $109.86.[2] That close was $3.94, or 3.7%, higher, the highest level since May 19.[1] U.S. West Texas Intermediate rose 3.5% to settle at $101.41 per barrel.[1][2] A Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile launched towards the Red Sea city of Yanbu.[1] The port is critical for Saudi Arabia's efforts to bypass the Strait of Hormuz and keep oil flowing to international markets.[1] Initial reports indicated no damage to Yanbu's infrastructure, according to Rapidan Energy Group.[1] In the Strait of Hormuz, at least nine tankers and cargo ships have come under attack since Sunday as Iran tries to choke off oil exports through the waterway.[2]
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What the video doesn't say
Iran sank the container ship GFS Pride on Wednesday, U.S. Central Command said.[2] The attacks have left three seafarers injured and two missing this week, according to the International Maritime Organization.[2] Crude shipments through Hormuz stood at 9.4 million barrels per day for the week ended Wednesday, about 70% of the average before the Iran war, according to Kpler.[2] Ukraine struck a Russian oil refinery on Thursday after President Volodymyr Zelenskiy declared that Kyiv was abandoning a ceasefire covering energy sites.[1] Russia's Ryazan oil refinery has suspended operations at a primary crude distillation unit following a drone attack, two industry sources told Reuters.[1] To boost supply, the International Energy Agency agreed on Thursday to release more than 20 million barrels of fuel to the market.[1] U.S. commercial crude inventories saw a big decline of more than 8 million barrels for the week ended Oct. 9, according to the Energy Information Administration.[2]
What's next?
The United States issued a request for proposal for an exchange of up to 17 million barrels of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the Department of Energy said on Friday.[1] Kpler analysts said they expected a slower and more uneven recovery in Hormuz flows in the absence of a comprehensive political deal.[1]
Sources
Photos: ITookSomePhotos (CC BY-SA 4.0), Arne Hückelheim (CC BY-SA 3.0), Jernej Furman from Slovenia (CC BY 2.0), Tony Webster from Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States (CC BY-SA 2.0), Doug Davey from New Jersey, United States (CC BY 2.0). Cropped.
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