[Oil prices] Brent tops $106 a barrel; Saudi Arabia and the Russia-Ukraine energy truce remain in limbo

[Financial News]  

International oil prices started the week up around 2% on the 12th (local time).
Instability in the Middle East intensified after Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen attacked King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, on the 10th, killing 12 people and injuring around 300.
Trump also said he had secured a “six-week energy truce” between Ukraine and Russia to resume Russian diesel exports, but concerns over diesel supplies persisted as Russia continued attacking Ukraine's energy facilities.
According to CNBC, Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, for December delivery rose 1.8% from the previous session to settle at $106.65 a barrel.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the US oil benchmark, for November delivery rose 2% to settle at $93.74 a barrel. Trump said he had secured an agreement to resume Russian diesel exports in a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the 9th, but the outlook remains uncertain.
That is because Russia has pledged to export more than 4 million tonnes of diesel but is not honoring the energy-truce commitment Trump says it made.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on the 12th that Russia had broken its energy-truce pledge and attacked gas production facilities. Zelenskyy suggested Ukraine could retaliate if Russia continued attacking its energy facilities. Despite US pressure, the risk that Ukraine will resume attacks on Russian oil-refining facilities has grown.
The situation in the Middle East is also uncertain.
The Saudi-led coalition fighting Houthi rebels in Yemen said on the 12th that it was responding to further drone and missile attacks targeting Saudi Arabia.
According to the Saudi state news agency, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi spoke by phone with Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah about ways to ease the recent rise in regional tensions, after which Houthi rebels launched a missile attack on Riyadh. Saudi authorities said they intercepted all the missiles.  
A drop in oil production in the Gulf of Mexico due to Hurricane Isaias also helped drive up prices. According to the US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), about 1.2 million barrels per day of oil production in the Gulf of Mexico was shut in on the 11th as well due to the hurricane.
[email protected] Song Gyeong-jae Reporter