Oil Prices Dip Amid Middle East Supply Disruptions, Remain Above $100 a Barrel

Oil prices settled about 1% lower on Thursday, but stayed above $100 a barrel, as investors weighed the disruption from strikes by Saudi Arabia and Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis against reports that additional Saudi crude barrels could reach global markets.

The strike between Saudi Arabia and Yemen has spread to the Middle East war zone, threatening to worsen the global energy supply shortage caused since the United States and Israel attacked Iran in February.

Brent crude futures closed down $1.01, or 0.95%, at $104.82 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate futures fell 52 cents, or 0.5%, to $101.91 a barrel. Both benchmarks had fallen about 3% on Wednesday.