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Oil slips but trims losses as Houthi drone reports raise supply fears
Brent was down 0.8% to $88.24 a barrel and WTI down 0.8% to $82.56, after earlier drops of more than 3.5% on demand concerns and rising U.S. crude inventories.
Oil prices pared earlier losses to under 1% as reports that Yemen's Houthis targeted a Saudi Aramco refinery with drones renewed worries about potential supply disruptions in a tight global market, Reuters reported. The Houthi Saba news agency said the attack hit an Aramco refinery in Saudi Arabia's Jazan, according to a report carried by Reuters.
Brent futures were down 74 cents, or 0.8%, at $88.24 a barrel at 11:58 a.m. EDT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 77 cents, or 0.8%, to $82.56. Earlier in the session, both contracts slid more than 3.5% amid attention to signs of weaker global demand and higher U.S. crude stock levels.
Reuters said diesel cracks also rose to an all-time high on the news of the Jazan attack, which the report linked to concerns about refined product supply. Saudi Aramco's website described the Jazan refinery as having capacity to produce 250,000 barrels per day of ultra-low sulfur diesel, Reuters added.
At the same time, upward pressure was limited by data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Reuters cited that U.S. commercial crude inventories rose by 17.4 million barrels to 424.4 million in the week ended August 7, the largest weekly gain since January 2023, and also noted OPEC's cut to its 2026 world oil demand growth forecast and the International Energy Agency's reduced view of consumption this year.
Latest closeWTI crude $82.68 ▼0.6%|Brent $88.46 ▼0.5%