Oil Price Today: The widening Middle East conflict is once again putting the global oil market under pressure. Crude prices climbed more than 1% on Tuesday after fresh attacks hit Saudi Arabia, the kingdom’s crucial East-West oil pipeline remained offline, and diplomatic efforts involving Iran and Gulf states were postponed. The combination has raised fresh fears that a prolonged disruption around the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea could tighten global energy supply.
Brent Crude futures rose $1.24, or 1.188%, to $106.93 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) gained $1.29, or 1.24 %, to $102.65 in early trading. The move followed another rise of about 1% in Brent and 1.3% in WTI during the previous session.
Oil Price Today: Why Are Oil Prices Rising Today?
The latest increase comes as several supply risks have converged across the Middle East.
Saudi Arabia’s East-West Pipeline, which provides an alternative route for transporting crude from the kingdom’s eastern oil fields to the Red Sea, remains disrupted after attacks. The pipeline can carry roughly 4 million barrels per day, making it a critical bypass route when shipping through the Strait of Hormuz faces disruption.
At the same time, Iran-backed Houthi forces launched fresh attacks on Saudi Arabia, while planned talks between Iran and Gulf Arab states over the Strait of Hormuz were postponed.
The combination has increased concerns that the conflict could spread across more energy infrastructure and shipping routes. Reuters reported that the market was particularly focused on whether the Saudi pipeline outage would last long enough to materially reduce available crude supplies.
Oil Price Today: Saudi East-West Pipeline Attack – Why It Matters?
The East-West Pipeline has become especially important because the Strait of Hormuz remains heavily disrupted by the wider war.
Saudi Arabia normally uses the pipeline to move crude toward Yanbu on the Red Sea, allowing oil to avoid the Strait of Hormuz. The system has a capacity of around 5 million barrels per day, while recent flows have been estimated at roughly 2.6 million to 4 million barrels per day.
The latest damage could keep much of the pipeline offline for three to five weeks, according to Associated Press reporting. That raises the possibility of a prolonged reduction in Saudi Arabia’s ability to reroute oil away from the Gulf.
Oil Price Today: Houthi Attacks Add to Saudi Oil Supply Risk
The pipeline disruption comes as fighting involving Yemen’s Houthis intensifies.
Iran-backed Houthi forces launched missile and drone attacks against Saudi targets on Monday. The attacks followed earlier strikes that Saudi Arabia blamed on Iran-backed groups operating from Iraq.
The widening attacks have created a difficult situation for Riyadh because Saudi oil exports now face risks on multiple fronts — from the Gulf and Strait of Hormuz to the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb.
The Financial Times reported that Saudi oil infrastructure has faced attacks from both Houthi forces and Iran-backed groups in Iraq, increasing pressure on the kingdom’s energy network.
Oil Price Today: Strait of Hormuz Traffic Falls Sharply
The oil market is also watching shipping activity through the Strait of Hormuz.
Preliminary tracking data showed commodity vessel traffic through the waterway falling to fewer than 10 transits per day over the weekend. Reuters later reported that only four commodity vessels crossed the strait on Monday, compared with 10 the previous day.
That represents a major decline from normal pre-war traffic levels.
The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most important energy chokepoints. Before the current US-Israel war with Iran began on February 28, the waterway carried roughly one-fifth of global oil and LNG supplies.
Any prolonged reduction in shipping could therefore have consequences far beyond the Middle East.
Oil Price Today: Iran-Gulf Talks Postponed
Diplomatic efforts to reduce the pressure on the Strait of Hormuz have also suffered a setback.
A meeting involving Iran and Gulf Arab states, hosted by Oman, was postponed. The discussions were expected to focus on the future of navigation through the strategic waterway and ways to reduce the risks facing commercial shipping.
Oman said the postponement was intended to create conditions for more constructive dialogue.
However, the delay has added another layer of uncertainty for energy markets. Traders are now watching both the military situation and diplomatic efforts for signs of whether shipping through Hormuz can return to more normal levels.
Brent Crude Price Today
Brent crude was trading at $106.93 per barrel, up $1.24 or 1.18% at 0026 GMT on Tuesday.
The benchmark had already gained around 1% in the previous session as traders reacted to attacks on Saudi infrastructure and growing concerns about regional oil supplies.
Brent had also moved above $108 during Monday’s trading as concerns about the Saudi pipeline and regional shipping intensified.
WTI Crude Price Today
US West Texas Intermediate crude futures climbed to $102.65 per barrel, gaining $1.29 or 1.24%.
WTI had increased around 1.3% on Monday.
The rise pushed the US benchmark above the psychologically important $100-a-barrel level, highlighting how the Middle East conflict has increasingly become an energy-market story as well as a military and geopolitical crisis.
US-Israel-Iran War Latest Live News: What Happens If the Saudi Pipeline Stays Shut?
A prolonged outage could put additional pressure on global oil supplies.
The East-West Pipeline offers Saudi Arabia an important alternative to shipping crude through the Strait of Hormuz. If both routes remain significantly constrained, the kingdom would have fewer options for moving oil to international buyers.
AP reported that the pipeline could remain largely out of service for several weeks following the attack.
That does not automatically mean the world will lose the full capacity of the pipeline from the market. Saudi Arabia can adjust production, storage and export routes. But a prolonged outage would reduce flexibility at a time when the broader region already faces severe shipping restrictions.
US-Israel-Iran War Latest Live News: Oil Prices, US Treasury Yields and Inflation
Higher crude prices are also creating problems for financial markets.
The jump in energy prices has revived concerns that the Middle East conflict could push inflation higher, particularly if oil remains above $100 for an extended period.
US 10-year Treasury yields briefly touched 5%, their highest level since October 2023, before easing to around 4.9895%.
The combination of expensive energy, elevated bond yields and geopolitical uncertainty has made investors more cautious across global markets.
US-Israel-Iran War Latest Live News: Asian Markets React to Oil Shock
Asian equities remained subdued as investors assessed the impact of higher oil prices and growing Middle East tensions.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan declined 0.12%.
South Korea’s benchmark fell 0.25%, while Japan’s Nikkei edged 0.19% higher after recovering from early losses.
Investors are also waiting for key central-bank decisions in the US and Japan, adding another layer of uncertainty to markets already dealing with energy-price volatility.
US-Israel-Iran War Latest Live News: Dollar, Gold and Silver Prices
Currency markets also reflected the cautious mood.
The US dollar index rose 0.05% to 99.53.
The dollar gained 0.17% against the Japanese yen to 154.61, while the euro slipped 0.03% to $1.1543.
Gold prices edged lower, with spot gold down 0.15% at $4,291.59 an ounce. Silver also declined 0.31% to $63.03.
The moves show that investors are balancing traditional safe-haven demand against the impact of higher interest rates and changing expectations for global monetary policy.
US-Israel-Iran War Latest Live News: What Could Happen to Oil Prices Next?
The next major driver for crude prices will be the duration of the Saudi pipeline disruption and the level of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
If repairs restore the East-West Pipeline relatively quickly and diplomatic efforts restart, some of the current supply premium could fade.
But if attacks continue, Hormuz traffic remains depressed and Saudi Arabia faces additional damage to its energy infrastructure, traders could price in a much larger and longer-lasting supply shock.
For now, the oil market is confronting an increasingly dangerous combination: a damaged Saudi export route, restricted Hormuz shipping, intensifying attacks and stalled regional diplomacy. That combination is keeping Brent above $100 and putting fresh pressure on global energy markets.
