Oil holds drop as Saudi Arabia moves to restore vital pipeline

Oil held a steep drop on signs that supply disruptions in the Middle East are set to ease, with a key pipeline being restored.

Brent traded near $106 a barrel after losing 2.7% on Wednesday, while West Texas Intermediate was above $102. Saudi Arabia is seeking to return about half the capacity of its damaged East-West pipeline within days, and full operations in six weeks, a person familiar with the matter said.

“I wouldn’t call it an all-clear situation,” said Haris Khurshid, chief investment officer at Karobaar Capital LP. “The market is getting some capacity back, but it isn’t getting its margin for error back.”

Crude has rallied by about three-quarters this year, as the US-Iran war cut Middle East flows and the Russia-Ukraine conflict drags on. Surging oil and fuel costs have fanned global inflationary pressures, prompting the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates on Wednesday and signal more tightening.

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The East-West pipeline — which carries oil across Saudi Arabia to its Red Sea coast — was damaged in attacks last week, boosting prices. The conduit has emerged as a vital workaround to shipments going via the Strait of Hormuz, which remains contested by Washington and Tehran.

Estimates vary for volumes going through Hormuz, which links the Persian Gulf to global markets. US Energy Secretary Chris Wright told Fox Business 18 million barrels of crude and products went through one day earlier this week, and the seven-day average was 11 million barrels a day. Meanwhile, Clarksons Research has put the daily figure at about 8 million barrels.

President Donald Trump is set to meet with Persian Gulf leaders next Tuesday in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly to discuss the next steps in the conflict, Axios reported, citing people with knowledge of the plan.

The war will end “very soon,” Trump said at a campaign event in North Carolina. “We could have a deal any time we want,” he added.

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Prices:

Brent for November settlement fell 0.1% to $105.73 a barrel at 12:07 a.m. in Singapore.
WTI for October delivery dropped 0.1% to $102.34 a barrel.

Also in the US, Congress gave final approval to a bill to hand Trump new powers to impose tariffs on countries buying Russian petroleum products, potentially including China and India. The legislation, which goes to the president’s desk for his signature, has been celebrated by Ukrainian officials eager for signs of Washington’s support in its fight against Moscow’s invasion.

Kyiv has for months been targeting Russian refineries with waves of drone attacks. That has prompted Moscow to ban most exports of diesel to prioritise local supplies, and officials are considering extending the curb through October. US retail prices of the industrial fuel have advanced to a record.

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