Saudi Supply Fears Ease, Oil Prices Slide

Oil prices declined for a third consecutive session on September 18 as concerns over disruptions to Saudi Arabia's crude supply eased, offsetting worries about the escalating conflict in the Middle East.

The Brent crude futures dropped $2.30 or 2.2% to $102.53 per barrel by 0636 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures declined $1.85 or 1.8% to $100.04 per barrel.

This decline puts Brent prices on track for their first weekly loss in three, down 2%. Markets largely shrugged off concerns about new threats to supplies despite Saudi Arabia and Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis exchanging fresh strikes across their border on Thursday, expanding the Middle East war front.

The easing of supply fears was attributed to reports that Saudi Arabia was seeking to return half the capacity of its East-West oil pipeline within days and offering more crude cargoes to Asian refiners through ship-to-ship transfers off Oman's port of Sohar.