Reuters - Oil prices climbed about 4% to a five-month high on Thursday after Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia stoked concerns of further
disruption to energy supplies from the key exporting region.
Brent futures rose $4.35, or 4.0%, to settle at $113.17 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude rose $2.32, or 2.4%, to settle at $99.47.
That was the highest close for Brent since May 4 and kept the global benchmark in technically overbought territory for the third time in a week.
"The complex is rebounding on another strong injection of risk premium related to an additional Houthi attack on Saudi infrastructure amid talk of a combined
US/Israeli strike on Iran after the mid-terms," analysts at energy advisory firm Ritterbusch and Associates said in a note.
Saudi Aramco told staff to evacuate its headquarters in Dhahran on the Gulf near Bahrain, Reuters reported, as fighting between the world's largest crude exporter and Yemen's Houthis intensified.
Clashes between the Houthis and a Saudi-led coalition that backs Yemen's internationally recognized government have raged since the Iran-aligned group pushed towards Bab el-Mandeb, a shipping chokepoint at the Red Sea's mouth.
"Reports of Middle East crude oil exports exceeding pre-conflict levels are more than countered by attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz and the Houthi strikes on Saudi Arabia and on its oil infrastructure," PVM Oil analyst Tamas Varga said.
Morgan Stanley analysts estimated that Middle East crude oil exports were around 17 million barrels per day last week. Crude exports from the region averaged about
18 million bpd in the 12 months before the start of the Iran war, according to Kpler.
In the US, refiner
Valero Energy kicked off earnings season for US refiners on Thursday by posting its highest-ever quarterly profit, beating Wall Street expectations, as fuel supply disruptions due to wars in Iran and Ukraine boosted margins during the third quarter.
