Oil prices today: Brent crude falls as US crude inventories rise despite Saudi supply concerns

Oil prices fell on Wednesday after an unexpected increase in US crude inventories outweighed concerns over supply disruptions following an attack on Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline.Brent crude futures declined 93 cents, or 0.86%, to $107.82 a barrel at 0028 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures dropped 97 cents, or 0.92%, to $104.86 a barrel.Both benchmarks had risen more than $3 on Tuesday to their highest levels since May 19 after Saudi Arabia suspended oil loadings at its Red Sea export hub of Yanbu and cut some shipments to Europe.US crude, gasoline and distillate inventories all increased last week, according to data from the American Petroleum Institute (API), cited by market sources.Crude inventories rose by 7.1 million barrels in the week ended September 11, against analysts’ expectations of a decline of around 1.6 million barrels, according to a Reuters poll.Saudi Arabia suspended oil loadings at Yanbu after shutting its East-West pipeline following an attack by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis on Friday.The pipeline is used to reroute around 4 million barrels of oil per day to the Red Sea port, equivalent to nearly 4% of global supply.The US energy secretary said oil flows through the vital pipeline should resume within days. However, sources told Reuters that repairs could take five to six weeks, while partial pumping could resume sooner.The disruption has also affected Saudi oil shipments to Europe, intensifying concerns over global supplies. In a separate development unrelated to the Iran conflict, Libya’s National Oil Corporation said operations at three oil fields had been suspended.The disruption occurred after protesting members of the Petroleum Facilities Guard shut a valve on the Hamada-Zawiya crude export pipeline.Shipping concerns have also increased after commodity vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz fell to fewer than 10 transits a day over the weekend, compared with a 10-day average of 14.The waterway carried nearly one-fifth of global oil supplies before the US-Israeli war on Iran began on February 28.Planned discussions between Gulf Arab states and Iran were also postponed, raising concerns that the regional conflict could widen and further disrupt energy shipments.Asian stocks made tentative gains on Wednesday as investors awaited the Federal Reserve’s policy decision later in the day.MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fluctuated between gains and losses after falling for four consecutive sessions. It was last up 0.2%, led by a 0.8% rise in South Korean shares. S&P 500 e-mini futures edged up 0.1%.Get the latest Business News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.