Oil prices rise after attack on Saudi oil facilities and shock over IEA report

[Financial News]  

International oil prices rebounded on the 14th (local time), bouncing back after just one day.
The rise followed an attack that day on oil facilities belonging to Saudi state-owned oil company Aramco by pro-Iran Houthi rebels in Yemen, as well as the International Energy Agency (IEA)’s monthly oil market report highlighting pressure on diesel supplies.
According to CNBC, Brent crude for December delivery, the international oil benchmark, settled at $106.06 per barrel, up $0.37 (0.35%) from the previous session.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil (WTI) for November delivery, the U.S. benchmark, also finished trading at $95.09 per barrel, up $0.95 (1.01%).
In its October oil market report released that day, the IEA said global diesel prices would soon start rising again and expressed pessimism that Russia’s agreement with the United States to resume diesel exports would have little practical effect. It also said diesel is a vital fuel for the economy and that even substantial price increases would not be enough to curb demand, projecting that high diesel prices would persist through the middle of next year.
Meanwhile, Saudi oil facilities continue to be hit by attacks from Houthi rebels.
Saudi Arabia’s Energy Ministry said on the 14th that a building housing a concentration of Saudi Aramco’s administrative departments had been attacked overnight by Houthi rebels. No casualties were reported, but the attack signaled that operations at Saudi refineries could be disrupted.
[email protected] Song Gyeong-jae Reporter