Oil prices settled $3 higher on Tuesday after shipping industry sources said crude loadings at Saudi Arabia's Red Sea export hub of Yanbu had been suspended and Riyadh had canceled some cargo
Oil prices settled $3 higher on Tuesday after shipping industry sources said crude loadings at Saudi Arabia's Red Sea export hub of Yanbu had been suspended and Riyadh had canceled some cargo deliveries to European customers, deepening concerns that disruptions to a critical oil-export route could persist for weeks.
Gains in U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures CLc1 outpaced Brent on Tuesday, as fears that Saudi Arabia's supply troubles were widening sent investors rushing into U.S. crude as an alternative.
Brent finished up $3.07, or 2.9%, at $108.75 a barrel, while WTI closed up $4.44, or 4.38%, at $105.83 a barrel. Both contracts closed at their highest since May 19.
The port of Yanbu has taken on outsized importance for global supply since the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran caused the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway that was the conduit for one-fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas supplies.
The war has forced Saudi Arabia to reroute crude westward via the roughly 1,200-kilometer East-West pipeline that carries oil from the east to Yanbu on the west coast, allowing exports to leave through the Red Sea without tankers passing through the strait.
Attacks on the East-West
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