Murban jumps 3% to $118 a barrel as Brent and WTI retreat
Key Facts
UAE Murban crude rose 3% to $118 a barrel on Monday, October 26, according to Gulf News, as Brent and West Texas Intermediate futures retreated from recent highs. The move showed a divergence between Murban’s price and benchmark futures in early trading, amid persistent concerns about supply disruption stemming from security tensions in the region. Gulf News said Murban rose despite declines in Brent and WTI, without the available report giving a comparable daily price for Murban. Announced Houthi attacks on a Saudi airport and oil facilities had stoked concerns about the safety of energy infrastructure. However, the group provided no evidence that its targets had been hit, and damage to the facilities it named could not be independently verified.
In early trading on Monday, U.S. crude futures fell $1.60, or 1.55%, to $101.67 a barrel by 0018 GMT, according to Reuters in a report carried by MarketScreener. Brent futures fell $1.56, or 1.34%, to $115.16 a barrel at the same time. The declines followed strong gains the previous week, when Brent ended the week up 6% and WTI rose 2.3%. Reuters linked those gains to concerns about energy supply disruptions after Houthi attacks. Prices nevertheless remained influenced by the market’s balancing of supply risks against a retreat from the elevated levels reached recently.
The Houthis’ military spokesperson said the group had targeted King Khalid Airport, an Aramco facility in Yanbu, the Rabigh refinery, pumping stations and the East-West pipeline. Reuters said, however, that it was not immediately clear what had happened to the attacks, or whether they had hit their targets or been intercepted. Saudi authorities did not confirm that the Rabigh refinery or the Aramco facility in Yanbu had been hit, leaving those sites among the locations named by the Houthis rather than confirmed damage. In contrast, the Saudi-led coalition said it had destroyed two ballistic missiles launched toward Yanbu and Taif on October 24. The contrast between the targeting claim and confirmation of interception puts facility security among the market’s concerns, without establishing that any damage occurred.
The Saudi Press Agency reported that fragments from two intercepted missiles fell at locations in Mecca, Jeddah, Taif and Rabigh on October 24. Authorities said they responded to the falling fragments, while Reuters said the attacks continued over the weekend, with the Houthis announcing on Saturday that they had targeted the airport and oil facilities. Saudi Arabia said on Sunday that it had intercepted more missiles and drones. Rabigh appears in the account of the attacks as a location where fragments fell, while no hit on the refinery the Houthis claimed to have targeted was confirmed. Murban’s move to $118, alongside declines in Brent and WTI at the start of the week, remains the latest available picture of oil prices’ reaction to these concerns.