Oil rises with attacks on Saudi Arabia

Oil rose on Wednesday as the conflict between Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen and Saudi Arabia increased supply risks and the effects of the expectation of increased diesel exports from Russia were evaluated on the market.

Brent oil futures increased by 0.8 percent to $106.58 per barrel. US crude oil (WTI) rose 0.9 percent to $94.94. While Brent oil decreased by 0.9 percent on Tuesday, WTI increased by 0.4 percent.

Nissan Securities Investment Chief Strategist Hiroyuki Kikukawa said that supply concerns arising from the conflicts between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia were pushing prices up. Kikukawa stated that the expectation that Russia will increase diesel exports could ease the supply squeeze in the markets and limit sharp movements in prices. The strategist stated that he expects WTI oil to be traded in the range of $ 90-100 per barrel.

Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Energy announced that the Houthis attacked an administrative building belonging to the state-owned oil company Saudi Aramco in the city of Dhahran in the east of the country and a limited-scale fire broke out.

The Houthis have launched attacks against Saudi Arabia with ballistic missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles in the last week in response to the kingdom's support for Yemeni government forces. While Riyadh International Airport was targeted four times, 13 people lost their lives in Saturday's attack.

According to data announced by OPEC on Tuesday, Saudi Arabia increased its oil production last month despite the disruptions in shipments due to the US-Iran war. This development contributed to a significant increase in the production of the OPEC + group, which includes Russia.

Two senior Iranian officials also reported to Reuters that Iran is using new tactics to target ships in the Strait of Hormuz in order to keep oil prices high and influence the midterm elections in the United States.

The Russian government stated on Tuesday that it did not see a direct connection between the peace talks with Ukraine and the diesel export agreement to the USA. The statement came after Reuters reported that US representatives told Ukrainian officials on Friday that the deal was part of an attempt to get Russia back into peace talks.