Diesel futures hit four-year high as Libya halts fields and Aramco delays shipments

Brent crude rises 3.0% to $108.86 a barrel and WTI jumps 4.7% to $106.15 as Saudi Arabia's key east-west pipeline remains offline

Diesel futures climbed to a four-year high on Thursday after Libya's National Oil Corporation shut production and Saudi Aramco delayed European shipments, adding to concerns over global fuel supplies. Brent crude rose 3.0% to $108.86 a barrel and WTI gained 4.7% to $106.15.

Libya's NOC halted output at the Hamada and Al-Tahara fields because of a pipeline closure, according to the NOC, which had earlier warned of possible force majeure as protests disrupted production at its fields.

The rally follows a run of supply shocks. Saudi Arabia's east-west pipeline, which normally carries 4 to 5 million barrels a day around the Strait of Hormuz, has been offline since a September attack, according to Reuters. Storage at the kingdom's Yanbu export terminal covers only five to seven days of exports, and Saudi Arabia has already halted loadings there and cancelled cargoes, a move that sent crude up about $5 a barrel. Tanker rates for very large crude carriers have passed $1 million a day for the first time, with Brent's physical spot price trading above $135 a barrel, according to that reporting.

Energy was the only major sector to advance in pre-market trading, up 0.6%, while financials and technology sold off. The latest rally builds on disruptions already priced in over the past week, with the Saudi pipeline still shut and Middle East tensions keeping a risk premium in place, though the size of today's move outpaces any new information reaching the market beyond what traders had already absorbed into the $105 to $108 range.