Brent Tops $108 as 7 Million-Bpd Saudi Pipeline Shutdown Deepens Supply Fears

3 articles · Updated · Yahoo Finance · Sep 15

Brent crude rose 3% to $108.88 a barrel by 1 p.m. ET, while WTI jumped 4.7% to $106.12, putting both benchmarks on track for their highest settlements in nearly four months.
Saudi supply worries intensified after crude loadings at the Yanbu Red Sea terminal were halted and European buyers were told some late-September cargoes would not proceed.
The disruption centers on Saudi Arabia's East-West Pipeline, shut after last week's Iraq-origin drone strike; the 7 million-barrel-per-day route has no reopening timeline, and UK authorities fear it could stay mostly closed for six weeks.
Fresh Houthi drone and missile attacks on Saudi targets, plus Libya's suspension of three oil fields after a pipeline valve shutdown, added to fears of wider regional outages.
Those risks have already lifted oil about 20% this month as Persian Gulf fighting escalates and attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz keep traders focused on export security.