Follow-up: Houthis Claim Missile Strike on Saudi Arabia's Largest Refinery as Oil Rises on October 28: Brent Up 1.3% to $115.36 a Barrel, Riyadh Yet to Confirm
Yemen's Houthi movement said on October 27 that it had hit Saudi Arabia's largest oil refinery with a missile, and oil prices rose on October 28, Reuters reported: Brent crude futures gained $1.48, or 1.3%, to $115.36 a barrel as of 0140 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate rose $1.22, or 1.22%, to $101.12. Saudi authorities did not immediately confirm a strike on the 550,000-barrel-per-day facility.
Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree said in a statement that the target was the Ras Tanura refinery in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province, claiming the missile struck its target and triggered major fires; the statement also claimed ballistic missiles targeted two Saudi military transport aircraft, at Najran Airport and at King Khalid Air Base in Khamis Mushait. All of those claims come from the Houthi side, have not been independently verified, and have not been confirmed by Saudi Arabia.
Prices were rebounding after dropping nearly $2 on Tuesday as Middle East talks eased supply worries. Markets were also awaiting U.S. inventory data: a Reuters poll of eight analysts expected crude stockpiles to have risen by about 15,000 barrels in the week ended October 23. Separately, three people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters that OPEC+ producers are expected to keep their December oil output targets steady on Sunday.
Background: on October 26 the Houthis claimed attacks on a Saudi east-west crude pipeline pumping station and on Riyadh's airport, which Saudi Arabia likewise did not confirm (see GSM's earlier report). Two consecutive days of claimed strikes on Saudi energy and military facilities have pushed market pricing of Middle East supply risk higher again.
Related: Follow-Up: Houthis Say They Attacked Three Saudi Oil Sites as Brent Rises to $115.74
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：沙特阿拉伯 Ras Tanura 炼油厂与储油区航拍（档案资料图，非本次现场）。照片：Arabian American Oil Co.（Aramco），公共领域，经维基共享资源。 / An aerial view of the Ras Tanura refinery and tank farm in Saudi Arabia (archive file photo, not the current scene). Photo: Arabian American Oil Co. (Aramco), public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
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