Adedapo Adesanya
By Adedapo Adesanya
Oil prices continued to fall on Wednesday after the Saudi Arabian government said half of production that was lost as a result of the attack over the weekend had already had been restored.
The attacks on the Saudi Arabia’s petrol plants saw prices skyrocket up to 20 percent on Monday with the Brent Crude trading above $70 per barrel.
However, with the restoration Brent crude, the international benchmark fell $1.02 or 1.6 percent to $62.54 per barrel on Wednesday, while the US West Texas Intermediate Crude was down $1.21 or 2.04 percent to $58.13 per barrel, according to data sourced from Oilprice.com.
Analysts have since noted that signs of an escalation on Yemeni rebels who claimed responsibility for the attacks could push up oil prices again as Saudi Arabia said Wednesday that it was joining a U.S.-led coalition to secure the Mideast’s waterways.
Although Iran has denied accusations from US that it was behind Saturday’s attack, the American President, Donald Trump has said he will sanction the country.
“I have just instructed the Secretary of the Treasury to substantially increase Sanctions on the country of Iran!” the president announced on Twitter on Wednesday.
Saudi Arabia is however convinced that Iran had a hand in the attacks on its facility.
“The attack was launched from the north and unquestionably sponsored by Iran,” a Saudi official was quoted saying.
The Kingdom has said that investigations are ongoing to further establish the exact launch point.
