Oil Prices Rise as Houthi Militants Target Saudi Energy
By Farhan Rafid
Oil prices rose Wednesday as traders assessed renewed threats to Middle East energy supplies after Yemen's Houthi militants said they targeted Saudi Arabia's largest oil refinery.
December Brent crude futures rose 1.9% to $116.03 a barrel, while December West Texas Intermediate futures gained 2% to $101.91 a barrel.
The Houthis said Tuesday that they struck Saudi Arabia's Ras Tanura refinery in the Eastern Province with a ballistic missile.
Aramco, which operates the refinery, didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on the attack. Saudi authorities haven't confirmed the claimed strike or any damage to the refinery, which has a processing capacity of 550,000 barrels a day and is located at one of the kingdom's main crude-export hubs.
A Saudi-led military coalition, which includes Bahrain and Egypt, separately said Tuesday that its air defenses intercepted and destroyed three ballistic missiles launched toward the Eastern Province and four drones targeting the kingdom's southern region. Saudi Arabia's Civil Defense also reported damages following another intercepted Houthi attack.
Prospects for diplomatic talks have failed to generate significant selling interest in oil as traders increasingly focus on developments on the ground, analysts at ANZ Research said Wednesday. The analysts said risks to crude supplies continued to increase.
The attacks came amid diplomatic efforts to ease regional tensions, with Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey agreeing earlier this week to continue discussions on regional peace and security.
Separately, seven OPEC+ producers are scheduled to meet Sunday to review market conditions and production policy.
Write to Farhan Rafid at farhan.rafid@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 28, 2026 03:54 ET (07:54 GMT)
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