Saudi Arabia's Extra Shipments Through Oman Ease Oil Price Concerns
Oil prices declined on Thursday, continuing their losses from the previous day. The decrease was attributed to reports that Saudi Arabia would ship extra crude cargoes through Oman, easing concerns about supply disruptions in the Middle East.
The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) contract fell by $1.24, or 1.2%, to $104.59 a barrel by 0049 GMT, while the Brent contract was down $1.14, or 1.1%, at $101.29. Both contracts had dropped about $3 on Wednesday.
Hiroyuki Kikukawa, chief strategist of Nissan Securities Investment, stated that concerns over supply tightness eased slightly following news of Saudi Arabia's extra shipments via Oman. Expectations of progress toward easing tensions in the Middle East ahead of the U.S.-China summit next week are also capping price gains.
The suspension of crude loadings at Saudi Arabia's Red Sea export hub of Yanbu and Riyadh's cancellation of some cargo deliveries to European customers had driven oil prices to about four-month highs earlier this week. The attacks on the East-West pipeline, which feeds the Saudi port of Yanbu, had heightened concerns about supply disruptions.