Oil tops $111 on fresh Saudi attacks, supply fears

October 22, 2026 (MLN): Oil prices climbed by more than $1 per barrel on Thursday as fresh Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia heightened fears of a wider regional conflict and further disruptions to Middle Eastern energy supplies.

Currently, Brent crude futures is up, 2.35%, at $111.38 per barrel, according to data by Mettis Global.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures is down by $2.07, or 2.13%, to $99.22 per barrel by [11:09 am] PST.

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi forces targeted several locations in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday. An attack on a civilian airport in Dammam killed at least one person and injured eight others, while a drone strike on an oil field claimed two lives.

Escalating tensions also extended across the Persian Gulf. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy said on Thursday that its forces had tracked and simultaneously struck four vessels suspected of involvement in illegal oil transfers in the northern Persian Gulf, setting them ablaze.

The IRGC further reported that three other vessels collided with mines west of the Strait of Hormuz, warning that continued US military provocations could trigger a broader response against American bases in the region.

Separately, Iranian media reported explosions in Sirik, southern Iran, on Wednesday, although the cause and origin of the blasts remained unclear.

The United States is also preparing to withdraw family members from several additional diplomatic missions in the region, according to US officials cited by Reuters, reflecting growing security concerns amid the escalating hostilities.

Meanwhile, disruptions to energy supplies continued to affect global oil inventories. US crude oil stocks declined by 3.06 million barrels to 412.5 million barrels last week, according to data released by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Wednesday.

The decline was substantially larger than the 820,000-barrel reduction forecast by analysts in a Reuters poll.

Distillate inventories, which include diesel and heating oil, moved in the opposite direction, increasing by 1.68 million barrels to 104.3 million barrels. Analysts had anticipated a decline of 1.16 million barrels, as reported by Reuters.

In a separate effort to ease pressure on fuel markets, the Trump administration is offering loans of up to nearly one-third of the United States' 1-million-barrel emergency heating oil reserve.

The US Department of Energy declared the measure on Wednesday amid rising prices linked to diesel shortages stemming from the conflicts in Iran and Ukraine.

On the diplomatic front, Russian President Vladimir Putin met US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff in St Petersburg on Wednesday to discuss efforts to end the war in Ukraine.

Investors continue to monitor developments across the Middle East, particularly the potential impact of further attacks and disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz on global energy supplies and oil prices.

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