Oil prices rose nearly 2% on Wednesday as fighting continued in Yemen and a renewed attack on a refinery in Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest crude exporter, heightened concerns over risks to Middle Eastern oil supplies.
Brent crude futures rose $1.81, or 1.6%, to $115.69 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate crude gained $2.52, or 2.5%, to $102.42 a barrel.
The gains pushed Brent back into overbought territory for the fourth time in five days.
Government officials said Yemen’s Houthi group attacked Aden airport on Wednesday after ordering residents to evacuate the area.
Dennis Kissler, senior vice president of trading at US financial services firm BOK Financial, said in a note that crude futures were once again pricing in tighter near-term supply amid reports that the United States could soon resume military operations, potentially on a larger scale than in the past given the latest attacks on Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern allies.
The US Energy Information Administration said Wednesday that energy companies withdrew 1.9 million barrels of crude oil from storage during the week ending October 23.
Source: Reuters
