Saudi Pipeline Attack Sends Oil Prices Soaring

Oil and gas prices have surged following the shutdown of Saudi Arabia's East-West Pipeline after it was attacked by drones last week. The pipeline, which is a main route for supplying global markets, suffered significant damage, resulting in a loss of approximately 700,000 barrels per day in throughput.

The price of Brent crude oil jumped from over $100 per barrel before the attack to nearly $108 per barrel after it was hit. West Texas Intermediate crude also followed a similar pattern, increasing from just over $96 per barrel to nearly $109 per barrel by Monday morning.

Patrick De Haan, an expert for GasBuddy, warned that average gasoline and diesel prices rose in every state over the last week due to escalating geopolitical tensions. He noted that new weekend attacks knocked two additional Russian refineries offline, further straining global refined product supplies.