Houthi Missile Targets Saudi Arabia's Largest Refinery as Brent Crude Surges to $115.36

Crude oil prices jumped on Wednesday following an announcement by Iran-backed Houthis that they had targeted Saudi Arabia's largest oil refinery with a missile, a facility with a processing capacity of 550,000 barrels per day.

Brent crude recorded a rise of 1.3 percent to reach $115.36 per barrel, while U.S. crude (WTI) climbed 1.22 percent to $101.12. Oil prices had declined roughly two dollars on Tuesday on the back of reports of diplomatic negotiations in the region, before recovering their upward momentum immediately following news of the strike.

The Houthi movement claimed responsibility for the attack, which was carried out by missile, but Saudi officials have yet to issue any confirmation or denial of the incident.

On the global oil supply front, three sources familiar with negotiations reported that OPEC+ member states are likely to maintain their production targets for December unchanged at their meeting scheduled for Sunday. Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, Algeria, Kazakhstan, and Oman are currently operating at production levels below their assigned quotas.

Conversely, certain factors are limiting the extent of the price increase: the market anticipates a rise in U.S. oil inventories, along with the possibility of a decline in Russian crude exports via Baltic and Black Sea ports next month, which traders attribute to Russian refineries shifting toward increased diesel production following an agreement struck with Washington this month.