Oil falls as US crude inventories rise despite Saudi supply concerns

Oil prices fell on Wednesday after an unexpected build in U.S. crude inventories, according to Reuters. Brent crude futures fell 93 cents, or 0.86%, to $107.82 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures were down 97 cents, or 0.92%, at $104.86 a barrel. The drop was due to concerns over supply after Saudi Arabia suspended oil loadings at its Yanbu port following an attack on its East-West pipeline to the Red Sea.

The pipeline, which reroutes around 4 million barrels per day, or about 4% of global supply, was shut after Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis attacked it on Friday. While the U.S. energy secretary said crude should resume flowing through the pipeline within days, estimates of how long the pipeline could remain offline vary, with some sources suggesting repairs could take five to six weeks.

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