Saudi Arabia's Extra Oil Shipments Ease Supply Disruption Concerns

Oil prices fell on September 17 after Saudi Arabia increased its shipments of crude oil through Oman, easing concerns about supply disruptions. The move led to a slight decrease in Brent crude futures, which dropped by 19 cents or 0.2% to $105.64 per barrel. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures also declined, falling by 33 cents or 0.3% to $102.10 per barrel.

According to Hiroyuki Kikukawa, chief strategist at Nissan Securities Investment, the additional volumes will only partially offset lost supply from Saudi Arabia's Red Sea port. However, some analysts believe that prices could spike towards $120/bbl levels if attacks and incidents in Hormuz and the Red Sea continue.

Suvro Sarkar, head of energy research at DBS Bank, warned that under a bear case scenario, prices could surge before normalizing back to $100/bbl. The conflict between the US and Iran has continued to disrupt supply from key Middle Eastern oil-producing regions.