Brent crude falls to one-week low as Saudi pipeline repair advances
Oil is still up more than 70% this year, with new US tariffs on Russian oil buyers among the risks that could push prices higher again
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Map: The Middle East, marking Abqaiq, Yanbu
Brent crude falls more than 3% on Thursday, touching its lowest level since September 10 and moving back below $105 a barrel.
The drop comes as Saudi Arabia moves to restore about half of its east-west pipeline. Full restoration is now expected within six weeks, an improvement on earlier estimates that had the line offline for three to five weeks.
The easing on the Saudi side comes alongside signs of renewed tension elsewhere. Iran has downed at least two unmanned American aircraft in recent days, according to U.S. officials, amid deliberation in Washington over resuming large-scale military operations against Iran. Oil remains up more than 70% this year, with new U.S. tariffs targeting buyers of Russian petroleum products and continued attacks on Russian refineries still seen as sources of further upside.
Markets have already priced in much of this supply risk, from Middle East tensions to the Russian refinery strikes to the new U.S. tariff measures. With diplomatic channels open on some fronts, including U.S.-Houthi talks and discussions between China and the U.S., further upside in prices looks limited unless one of these conflicts escalates enough to materially worsen the supply picture.