Oil Prices Fall as Saudi Arabia Finds New Route Through Strait of Hormuz

Crude oil prices fell for the second consecutive session due to easing concerns over Middle East supply disruptions. Saudi Arabia is aiming to ship crude through the Strait of Hormuz after shifting loadings away from the out-of-service Yanbu port and possibly restoring some oil flows soon through its damaged East-West pipeline.

The kingdom's export options are no longer feasible, at least for now, according to The Wall Street Journal. A shuttle service that slips oil through the Strait of Hormuz, along with Saudi Aramco's track record of fixing damaged infrastructure quickly, looks like the best hope to cool oil prices.

Estimates of how much oil is getting out of the strait vary widely since activity is difficult to track as ships turn off their transponders. However, commodities traders think around 9 million barrels of oil and refined products may be slipping out daily.