Saudi Pipeline Outage and Libyan Shutdowns Drive Oil Prices Higher

Oil prices surged on Tuesday due to fresh supply threats from Saudi Arabia and Libya. The East-West pipeline in Saudi Arabia, which was forced offline by drone strikes last week, is still shut down, with US Energy Secretary Chris Wright saying it will take 'days' to resume operations.

Saudi Aramco has delayed oil deliveries to some European buyers this month, according to a Bloomberg report. Meanwhile, Libya's oil fields have been shut down and authorities are considering declaring a force majeure after the Hamada-Zawiya pipeline was closed.

Brent crude, the global benchmark, climbed almost 3% to $109 per barrel in Tuesday's trade before settling around $108 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate rose more than 4% during a volatile trading session.