Saudi Pipeline Halt Sends Oil Prices Soaring Past $103
Global oil markets surged at the start of the trading week, with West Texas Intermediate (WTI) briefly topping $103 a barrel. The U.S. benchmark climbed more than 3% at one point in overnight trading before settling around $102.27 to $103.20 a barrel.
The rally extends a torrid run that has pushed oil prices up about 77% since the start of the year and more than 45% since the U.S.-Iran ceasefire collapsed in early July.
Saudi Arabia's decision to shut the East-West pipeline, which carries up to 7 million barrels of crude per day from the kingdom's eastern oil fields to Red Sea export terminals, is at the center of the latest surge. The pipeline had been carrying roughly 4 million barrels daily to the port of Yanbu during the six months that the Strait of Hormuz has been effectively blocked by war.
Traders and crude buyers now say Yanbu holds only five to seven days of stored crude to sustain existing export volumes. If the pipeline is not restarted within that window, Saudi exports could fall sharply, removing as much as 4% of world oil supply from the market.