Oil steadies as Middle East crude exports rise and G7 to release stocks
USO•Oil prices were mixed on Monday as Middle East crude exports rose and G7 nations pledged to release 100 million barrels of diesel and crude from emergency reserves. Brent rose 5 cents to $102.30 a barrel, while WTI fell 49 cents to $90.62.
1. Prices and supply
Brent crude futures rose 5 cents to $102.30 a barrel at 0900 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 49 cents, or 0.5%, to $90.62. Both contracts had fallen more than 1% earlier. Middle Eastern crude exports exceeded pre-war levels on four of the seven days in the final week of September, despite attacks on vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
2. Supply risks persist
The G7 agreed to release 100 million barrels of diesel and crude from emergency reserves and pledged to refrain from energy export restrictions. Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser said supplies of crude oil and refined fuels were likely to remain stretched, and that refilling global stockpiles after emergency withdrawals might take two years. Aramco also cut November crude prices for Asia to six-year lows.
3. Attacks and output review
The Houthis said they attacked Saudi Aramco sites in Riyadh and the Khurais area; Saudi Arabia did not confirm the claim. OPEC+ delayed a review of 2027 oil output quotas after the war disrupted Middle Eastern capacity-expansion projects, two sources close to the matter said.
