Key Takeaways
- Brent crude futures reached $116.72 per barrel, their highest since April 29.
- Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia and an oil spill in the UAE heightened supply concerns.
- US and Germany have tapped strategic oil reserves to address potential supply disruptions.
Oil prices surged to over $116 per barrel on Friday, marking their highest level in nearly six months, as concerns over potential supply disruptions in the Middle East intensified.
The price of Brent crude futures settled at $116.72 per barrel, up $3.55 or 3.14 percent, while US West Texas Intermediate crude closed at $103.27 per barrel, up $3.80 or 3.8 percent.
The rise in oil prices was driven by a series of attacks carried out by the Houthi group against energy infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, including the evacuation of Saudi Aramco’s headquarters in Dhahran.
In addition, an oil spill was detected off the coast of the UAE, near Umm Al Quwain, though the cause was not immediately identified.
Clashes between Saudi Arabia and the Houthi group, which controls Yemen, have been ongoing since the Houthis pushed towards the Bab el-Mandeb Strait last month, a critical shipping chokepoint at the mouth of the Red Sea.
October has seen the worst month for attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and nearby waterways, according to data compiled by a Washington-based think tank.
President Donald Trump suggested that the US could end the war with Iran quickly, but also hinted that the conflict might gradually wind down.
In response to potential supply disruptions, the US Department of Energy authorized an emergency exchange of up to 400,000 barrels of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to address a supply disruption affecting Phillips 66’s Lake Charles refinery in Louisiana.
Meanwhile, Germany’s national oil stockpiling agency, EBV, circulated a tender to sell diesel, heating oil, and crude oil volumes from strategic reserves, marking the first such oil releases since G7 countries agreed to do so in October.
