[Oil Prices] Mixed Finish as Ukraine Resumes Attacks Amid Easing Russia Sanctions and Houthi Offensive

[Financial News]  

International oil prices ended mixed on the 19th (local time).
Brent crude, the benchmark for international oil prices, climbed above $110 intraday before turning slightly lower. By contrast, West Texas Intermediate crude oil (WTI), the U.S. benchmark, continued to gain more than 2%.
Reports that Ukraine had resumed attacks on oil facilities despite the U.S. easing sanctions on Russia, and that Iran-aligned Houthi rebels in Yemen continued attacks on Saudi oil facilities that day, weighed on the oil market.
Brent crude for December delivery, which had surged to $110.70 a barrel intraday, settled at $109.55 a barrel, down $0.31 (0.28%) from the previous session.
WTI for November delivery rose $2.25 (2.22%) to close at $103.66 a barrel.
Concerns about oil supply disruptions intensified as Saudi Arabia appeared to struggle against the Houthi offensive.
The Houthi rebels claimed to have carried out airstrikes that day on King Khalid International Airport in the Saudi capital, Riyadh; Abha International Airport in the southwest near the Yemen border; Saudi Aramco facilities in Yanbu, a key oil export port on the Red Sea coast; the Shaybah oil field; and a Saudi naval base, among other targets.
Saudi Arabia also postponed until next year the Future Investment Initiative (FII) conference, also known as the “Davos in the Desert,” amid the Houthi offensive.
In Russia, concerns about disruptions to diesel supplies emerged as Ukraine resumed attacks on oil facilities on the 18th. Although the United States has eased sanctions and is pressuring Ukraine to halt airstrikes on Russian oil facilities, it has not managed to stop Ukraine from retaliating against Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities.
Alexander Beglov, governor of St. Petersburg, Russia, said on social media that Ukraine had resumed large-scale drone attacks on oil terminals and storage facilities on the 18th. According to maritime intelligence firm Kpler, the St. Petersburg terminal exports about 120,000 barrels of refined petroleum products a day.
Ukraine had previously warned that it would resume attacks on Russian oil facilities after Russia failed to stop attacking Ukrainian energy facilities despite the U.S.-brokered “energy truce.”

[email protected] Song Gyeong-jae Reporter