Brent crude hovers near $109 a barrel as Ukraine resumes energy strikes, tankers attacked in Middle East

Crude oil prices hovered near recent highs on Sunday as traders weighed a Ukraine bombing of oil facilities in Russia and more tankers coming under attack in the Persian Gulf.

Brent crude futures, the international benchmark, shed $1.04 to $108.82 per barrel. U.S. West Texas intermediate lost 26 cents to $101.15 per barrel.

Fires broke out at an oil terminal and depot in St. Petersburg after Ukraine launched a massive wave of drone strikes on Sunday, St. Petersburg Gov. Alexander Beglov said in a post on Telegram.

The terminal in St. Petersburg exports about 120,000 barrels per day of refined products, mostly fuel oil, according to data from Kpler. It is unclear how bad the damage is at the facility.

Ukraine briefly paused strikes on Russian energy facilities after President Donald Trump declared on Oct. 11 that Kyiv and Moscow had agreed to a truce.

But Russia continued to strike Ukrainian energy infrastructure after Trump's announcement. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said last week that Kyiv would resume strikes on Russian facilities in retaliation.

In the Middle East, meanwhile, two tankers were attacked off the coast of Saudi Arabia in the Persian Gulf on Friday, according to incident reports from the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre.

A small boat fired a rocket-propelled grenade at an unidentified tanker 78 nautical miles northeast of Al Jubayl, according to UKMTO. Another tanker, the ST3, was hit by an unknown projectile, UKMTO reported.

Iran has escalated attacks on tankers in the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman in an effort to choke off crude oil exports from the region.