Tokyo, Sept. 17 (SANA) Oil prices fell on Thursday, extending losses from the previous session as signs of additional Saudi crude supplies eased concerns over disruptions, though prices remained above $100 a barrel amid continued tensions in the Middle East.
Brent crude futures fell to $104.74 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude dropped to $101.60. Both benchmarks lost about $3 on Wednesday, Reuters reported.
“Concerns over supply tightness eased slightly following news that Saudi Arabia would ship cargo via Oman,” said Hiroyuki Kikukawa, chief strategist at Nissan Securities Investment.
“Expectations of progress toward easing tensions in the Middle East ahead of the U.S.-China summit next week are also capping price gains,” he added.
Saudi Arabia is offering additional crude cargoes to Asian refiners through ship-to-ship transfers off Oman’s Sohar port, according to people familiar with the matter. The additional supplies could partly offset disruptions caused by attacks on the kingdom’s East-West pipeline.
Saxo Bank analysts said recovering oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz were only partly compensating for export volumes lost after drone attacks disrupted the Saudi pipeline.
Oil prices had risen to their highest level in nearly four months earlier this week after shipping sources said Saudi Arabia suspended crude loadings at Yanbu and canceled some deliveries to European customers following attacks on the pipeline serving the Red Sea port.
Two pumping stations on the East-West pipeline were damaged in last week’s attack, according to three oil and security sources, with no clear timetable for repairs.
Supply risks remain as regional tensions continue. Saudi warplanes struck Yemen, while the Iran-aligned Houthis said they launched drones and missiles toward Saudi cities on Wednesday.
DBS Bank said its base-case scenario assumes tensions between the United States and Iran will ease, with Brent stabilizing between $85 and $95 a barrel in the fourth quarter.
Under a more bearish supply scenario involving continued attacks and disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and Red Sea, prices could rise toward $120 a barrel before retreating to around $100, said Suvro Sarkar, the bank’s head of energy research.
R.H/Abd
