Crude nears $107 as Middle East attacks escalate

Brent crude oil prices surged to nearly $107 per barrel on Monday due to heightened fears of global oil shortages following new attacks on Saudi Arabia and oil tankers near the Strait of Hormuz. The price jump of $2.09, or 2%, brought the Brent benchmark to $107 per barrel, while the U.S. benchmark, West Texas Intermediate, climbed by $1.93, or 2.1%, to $93.78 per barrel, according to Oilprice.com.

The rise in prices followed a series of attacks in the Middle East over the weekend, including a Houthi strike on Riyadh’s international airport on Saturday that claimed 13 lives and left over 300 people injured. Additional attacks were reported on Sunday, with two oil tankers struck near Oman and in the Strait of Hormuz. These incidents have raised concerns about the resumption of oil exports from the Gulf, which had already rebounded to 81% of pre-war levels by September.

Despite expectations of increased Russian diesel exports and a recent U.S. pledge from President Donald Trump for Russia to supply over 300,000 metric tonnes of diesel to the United States and global markets, the latest price surge surpassed these expectations. Saudi Arabia expressed concern over the resilience of its oil infrastructure and vowed a response to the attacks, while China condemned the Houthi strikes on Saudi Arabia and warned of further escalation.

Russia has partially lifted restrictions on diesel exports, allowing an extra 500,000 tonnes, or approximately 3.7 million barrels, to enter the international market. However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of breaching the energy infrastructure ceasefire agreement on Monday. Meanwhile, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) reduced its forecast for global oil demand growth in 2026, now anticipating a 400,000 barrels per day increase, down significantly from its initial prediction of 1.4 million barrels per day.

OPEC expects much of the oil demand that was postponed due to disruptions in 2026 to return in 2027, although this projection is lower than the 380,000 barrels per day forecast from September.

Energy companies in the United States, including Shell, Chevron, and BP, are preparing to resume offshore production in the Gulf of Mexico following Hurricane Isaias, which disrupted operations over the weekend.