Saudi Oil Rerouting Calms Market Fears, But Prices Still Slide

Crude oil prices continued their downward trend on Thursday, plummeting to $105.89 per barrel for Brent crude and $102.39 per barrel for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) at the time of writing.

The drop follows a recent spike in prices due to concerns over oil supply security after Houthi attacks on Saudi energy infrastructure, including the East-West pipeline that sends crude to the Red Sea port of Yanbu.

The pipeline was shut down following the attack, which led to worries about potential shortages and price increases. However, the situation appears to be stabilizing as Saudi Arabia redirects more oil to its Persian Gulf ports via ship-to-ship transfers in the Gulf of Oman.

According to reports, Kpler noted that oil storage at Yanbu port has fallen below 15 million barrels, covering only a few days' worth of exports at current rates (3.5 million barrels daily).