EL7.AI
CommoditiesMedium•23 October 2026•
3 min read

Brent rises 4% to $113.17 as Houthis attack Saudi Arabia

Key Facts

1Brent rose $4.35, or 4%, to settle at $113.17 a barrel on Thursday, October 22.
2West Texas Intermediate crude settled at $99.47 a barrel in the Thursday, October 22 session.
3Morgan Stanley analysts estimated Middle East crude exports at about 17 million barrels a day in the week before the report.
4Brent spot prices averaged $114 a barrel in September, up $23 from August, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
5The U.S. Energy Information Administration forecast Brent spot prices would average $105 a barrel in the fourth quarter of 2026.

Brent crude futures rose 4% to settle at $113.17 a barrel on Thursday, October 22, after Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia sparked fears of further energy supply disruptions, according to Reuters. Crude gained $4.35 a barrel during the session, a move linked to mounting concerns over supply security. West Texas Intermediate crude ended the same session at $99.47 a barrel, the agency reported. Oil rose as fighting between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis intensified, prompting measures to protect employees in the Saudi energy sector. Saudi Aramco asked employees to evacuate its headquarters in Dhahran, Reuters reported. The agency linked the rise in prices to the attacks and the fears they raised of further supply disruptions.

Those concerns coincided with continued crude flows from the Middle East, with Morgan Stanley analysts estimating the region's exports at about 17 million barrels a day in the week before the report, according to Reuters. In Libya, production faced disruption linked to a pipeline carrying oil from the Hamada and Tahara fields to the port of Zawiya. The head of Libya's National Oil Corporation said the closure of a valve on the pipeline had reduced output from the two fields, adding an actual production disruption to concerns surrounding regional supplies. Among refiners, Valero Energy reported results that benefited from fuel supply disruptions caused by the wars in Iran and Ukraine, according to the agency. The company posted "the highest quarterly profit in its history," beating Wall Street expectations. The earnings came as refining margins benefited from fuel supply disruptions linked to the two wars.

Oil prices had also risen in the previous month, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's October Short-Term Energy Outlook. Brent spot prices averaged $114 a barrel in September, up $23 a barrel from the August average. The report said risks to oil tankers transiting the region had raised shipping costs, alongside an increase in the risk premium in oil prices. Tankers also took longer routes to avoid conflict zones, reducing vessel availability, according to the EIA. The conflict's effects thus extended to the cost of transporting oil and the availability of vessels to ship it, alongside the risk premium embedded in prices. The market backdrop, according to the report, combined a rise in average spot prices in September with difficulties transporting supplies through the region.

Looking ahead, the U.S. Energy Information Administration forecast in its October report that Brent spot prices would average $105 a barrel in the fourth quarter of 2026. The agency's estimate covers average spot prices across the quarter, which follows September's increase in the average compared with August. On the diplomatic front concerning the war in Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy expressed hope for negotiations with Russia, according to Reuters. His remarks followed Moscow's announcement that it was ready to resume U.S.-mediated talks. Zelenskiy said he hoped negotiations would take place in "early November," with the anticipated diplomatic step coming after a wave of disruptions affecting fuel supplies and refining margins.