[International Oil Prices] Fall After Group of Seven (G7) Agrees to Release 100 Million Barrels

[Financial News]  

International oil prices closed lower on the 2nd (local time).
Prices fell after reports that the United States had agreed to pressure the Group of Seven (G7) to release 100 million barrels of crude oil and refined petroleum products over the next four months instead of imposing a diesel export ban.
Brent crude oil, the benchmark for international oil prices, for November delivery turned slightly lower late in the session and closed marginally lower at $102.25 per barrel, down 0.06% from the previous session.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil (WTI), the U.S. benchmark, for November delivery fell 1.90% to close at $91.11 per barrel.
The United States, Canada, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy and Japan agreed to release 100 million barrels over the next four months. They also agreed not to take measures such as export bans among member states.
However, the decline in oil prices was limited because tensions in the Middle East were escalating.
Reuters reported, citing government officials, that Saudi Arabia was preparing an offensive against Iran-backed Yemeni Houthi rebels. Saudi Arabia had earlier struggled after the East-West crude oil pipeline was shut down for a time following an attack by drones launched from Iraq. Saudi Arabia, which is helping government forces fight the Houthi rebels in Yemen, appears to be preparing a major counteroffensive against the Houthis in retaliation.
With the Houthi rebels controlling the area near the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, a key waterway linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, as many as 100,000 Yemeni government troops overseen by Saudi Arabia are expected to be mobilized for the counteroffensive.

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