Oil Prices Gain Nearly $2 as Saudi Attacks Heighten Supply Concerns

By Adedapo Adesanya

Attacks on Saudi Arabia heightened concerns over supply disruptions, outweighing expectations of increased oil supplies, pushing oil prices higher by nearly $2 per barrel on Monday.

Brent crude futures soared by $1.93 or 1.8 per cent to $106.65 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained $1.89 or 2 per cent to close at $93.74 per barrel.

The gains followed fresh missile attacks on Saudi Arabian cities by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on Monday, raising concerns about oil supplies in the already volatile Middle East region.

The Gulf nation announced it was suspending flights from Riyadh, its second busiest airport, after Houthi missiles killed 13 people on Saturday and left more than 300 injured. Further attacks happened on Sunday, intensifying conflict that could further hamper ​crude oil supplies from one of the world’s biggest producers.

Goldman Sachs raised its December Brent forecast to $90 per barrel from $85, estimating that geopolitical risks are currently adding just over $20 per barrel to oil prices.

The price increase comes as the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has sharply reduced its expectations for global oil demand growth this year.

OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais said Monday that the producer group now expects demand to grow by just 400,000 barrels per day in 2026, down from the 1.4 million barrels per day it forecast at the beginning of the year.

OPEC expects much of the demand deferred during this year’s disruptions to return in 2027. The group had already cut its 2026 growth estimate to 380,000 barrels per day in September, meaning Monday’s 400,000-barrels per day figure is actually a slight increase from last month’s forecast even though it represents a 1 million barrels per day reduction from OPEC’s outlook at the beginning of the year.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) expects an even deeper demand hit this year, forecasting a 2.5-million-bpd decline in global consumption in 2026 followed by a 2.6-million-barrels-per-day rebound in 2027.

Meanwhile, more attacks on tankers sailing through the Strait ​of Hormuz have been reported this month, threatening to dampen a recovery in Middle East crude exports seen in September.

A tanker was struck by a drone in ​the vicinity of Oman’s Sohar, while another was damaged transiting Hormuz, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations reported.

The tanker attacks threaten to interrupt the recovery in Gulf oil exports, which reached 81 per cent of prewar levels in September. Crude and condensate shipments had recovered to 91 per cent, but refined-product exports remained at just 60 per cent.

In the Gulf of Mexico, energy majors Shell, Chevron, and BP were seeking to redeploy personnel and restore production at their platforms after Hurricane Isaias made landfall early on Saturday.

US President Donald Trump also unexpectedly announced on Sunday that Ukraine and Russia had agreed to a ceasefire ⁠covering energy ​infrastructure. Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskiy accused Russia of violating the energy ceasefire on Monday.