Oil jumps over US$3 a barrel on October 23 after Houthi attacks
Brent closes at US$116.72 a barrel, its highest since 29 April, while the US approves an emergency exchange of up to 400,000 barrels
- Both Brent and US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose by over US$3 a barrel on October 23 due to concerns over Middle East energy supplies.
- The primary cause for the price jump was a series of attacks by Houthi rebels on energy infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, the world's largest crude exporter.
- Supply fears were further intensified by an oil spill from a tanker off the coast of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Brent and US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained more than US$3 a barrel on Friday, 23 October 2026, as Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia and an oil spill off the United Arab Emirates (UAE) intensified concerns over Middle East energy supplies.Brent settled at US$116.72 a barrel, up US$3.55, or 3.14%, reaching the highest closing price since 29 April. The benchmark gained 6% over the week ending 23 October. WTI closed at US$103.27 a barrel after rising US$3.80, or 3.8%, on 23 October. The US benchmark finished the week 2.3% higher.
Houthi attacks fuel fears over Saudi oil supplies
“Fears of supply disruptions drove the advance after Iranian-backed Houthi rebels carried out a series of attacks across Saudi Arabia, including on energy infrastructure,” said Adam Turnquist, chief cross-asset strategist at LPL Financial.
Saudi Aramco ordered staff to evacuate the company’s headquarters in Dhahran, on the Gulf near Bahrain, on 22 October as fighting intensified between Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest crude exporter, and Yemen’s Houthis.
The Saudi-led coalition supports Yemen’s internationally recognised government. Fighting with the Iran-aligned Houthis has continued since the group advanced towards the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a shipping chokepoint at the mouth of the Red Sea, in September.
The UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment reported an oil spill from a tanker off Umm Al Quwain. Authorities had not identified the vessel or disclosed what caused the spill.
Tanker attacks unsettle oil traders
Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates, said traders were concerned about what he described as an increase in Iranian attacks on tankers over the previous week.
“While there has been an increase in oil transiting out of the Strait of Hormuz, that could change at any minute,” Lipow said.
Shipping sources reported on 9 October that the Gem No. 2 supertanker had been struck by an unidentified projectile 13 nautical miles, or about 24km, west of Al Jazeera in the UAE.
October has been the worst month for attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and nearby waterways, according to Washington Institute for Near East Policy data cited by Reuters. The Washington-based think tank has tracked maritime security incidents worldwide since 2017.
US President Donald Trump said on 23 October that Washington could end the war with Iran quickly, but suggested the United States might instead allow the conflict to wind down gradually.
US approves emergency exchange of up to 400,000 barrels
The US Department of Energy authorised an emergency exchange of up to 400,000 barrels of crude from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to address a supply disruption affecting Phillips 66’s Lake Charles refinery in Louisiana.
The US Strategic Petroleum Reserve is at the lowest level since 1982 following drawdowns by Trump as the war with Iran disrupted supply lines. Former president Joe Biden also used the reserve following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Germany’s national oil stockpiling agency, Erdölbevorratungsverband (EBV), circulated a tender to sell diesel, heating oil and crude from strategic reserves. The planned sales mark Germany’s first releases since the Group of Seven countries agreed, under pressure from Trump, to draw on emergency stocks at the start of October.
Libyan output falls as Russian diesel heads for New York
Production at Libya’s Hamada and Tahara oilfields fell after a valve was shut on the pipeline connecting the fields to Zawiya port, the head of the National Oil Corporation told Reuters on 22 October.
A tanker carrying the first Russian diesel bound for the United States since Moscow and Washington reached an export agreement was heading for New York, ship-tracking data showed.
Trump announced the Russian diesel agreement in October as part of efforts to lower sharply rising diesel prices before the US midterm elections on 3 November.
US energy companies kept the total oil and gas rig count unchanged for a second consecutive week, according to Baker Hughes. The energy services company reported 603 rigs in the week ending 23 October, a measure watched as an early indicator of future production.
