Oil rises as US orders diplomats to leave Saudi Arabia as tensions escalate
USO•Brent rose 1.2% to $110.11 a barrel and US WTI gained 1% to $98.12 as attacks in Saudi Arabia prompted the US to order some diplomats and family members to leave. US crude stocks fell 3.06 million barrels to 412.5 million last week.
1. Oil prices rise
Brent crude futures rose $1.29, or 1.2%, to $110.11 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude gained 97 cents, or 1%, to $98.12. The US State Department plans to withdraw family members from a number of other US missions in the region, US officials said.
2. Attacks heighten concerns
Yemen’s Houthis struck several targets on Wednesday. At least one person was killed and eight wounded at a civilian airport in Dammam, while two people were killed in a drone attack on a Saudi oil field. Kpler data showed at least 18 attacks on shipping over the past two weeks; LSEG analysts warned that Iran was targeting tankers beyond the Strait of Hormuz, reaching into the Gulf of Oman.
3. US inventory data
US crude stocks fell 3.06 million barrels to 412.5 million barrels last week, the US Energy Information Administration said, against expectations for an 820,000-barrel draw. Distillate stockpiles rose 1.68 million barrels to 104.3 million, compared with expectations for a 1.16 million-barrel decline.
