World oil prices are falling amid Saudi Arabia’s efforts to resume exports
Kyiv • UNN
Brent fell to $104, while WTI fell to $101.20 per barrel. Saudi Arabia is resuming exports, but risks in the Strait of Hormuz remain.
Oil prices are falling for the third consecutive day amid Saudi Arabia's efforts to resume exports after the "East-West" oil pipeline was damaged. The market is ignoring the latest escalation in the Middle East, although a barrel of Brent is still holding above $104, while shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remains risky. Reuters reports, UNN writes.
Details
Brent crude oil futures fell by 79 cents, or 0.75%, to $104 a barrel as of 03:19 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures declined by 70 cents, or 0.69%, to $101.20 a barrel. On Thursday, both benchmark grades closed down by approximately 1%.
Brent prices are heading for their first weekly decline in the past three weeks (down 0.5%), while WTI is on track to rise by 1.2%.
Markets largely ignored concerns about new threats to supplies, even though Saudi Arabia and Iran-backed Yemeni Houthi militants exchanged new strikes across the border on Thursday, expanding the front of the war in the Middle East
Earlier this week, prices rose to nearly four-month highs after sources reported a suspension of oil shipments at Saudi Arabia's Yanbu export hub on the Red Sea, while Riyadh canceled some deliveries to Europe after its "East-West" pipeline was damaged in an attack last week.
However, prices cooled amid reports that Saudi Arabia aims to restore about half of the capacity of its "East-West" oil pipeline within several days, while also offering more crude cargoes to Asian refiners through ship-to-ship transfers off the Omani port of Sohar.
Nevertheless, oil prices are still holding above $100 a barrel as markets await confirmation of a clear improvement in the supply situation, analysts say.
Nonetheless, transporting oil through the region remains risky.
The naval forces of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said that a Togo-flagged tanker came under attack on Thursday while attempting to make an "illegal passage" through the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian state media reported on Friday morning.