Oil Prices Surge Amid Houthi Attacks and Supply Disruptions

Oil prices reached their highest settlement since April on October 23, with Brent crude settling at $116.72 and US West Texas Intermediate at $103.27. The surge followed Houthi attacks on energy infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, which prompted Saudi Aramco to evacuate its headquarters in Dhahran, and a projectile strike on the Gem No. 2 supertanker in the United Arab Emirates.

Global supply was further strained by an oil spill off the coast of Umm Al Quwain in the United Arab Emirates and a production reduction in Libya caused by a shut pipeline valve affecting the Hamada and Tahara oilfields. In the United States, a supply disruption at the Phillips 66 Lake Charles refinery led the United States Department of Energy to authorize an emergency release of 400,000 barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

To stabilize markets, Germany's EBV began selling strategic reserves under G7 agreements. Donald Trump brokered a deal for Russian diesel exports to the United States to lower prices ahead of the November 3 midterm elections. Regarding the broader regional instability, he stated that "the US could end the war with Iran quickly," though he suggested the conflict might need to wind down gradually.