Oil prices slid on Monday after earlier climbing above $70 a barrel for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began after attacks on Saudi Arabian oil facilities, as reported by Reuters.
Yemen’s Houthi forces fired drones and missiles at the heart of the Saudi oil industry on Sunday, including a Saudi Aramco facility at Ras Tanura vital to petroleum exports. Riyadh said there were no casualties or loss of property.
Brent climbed as high as $71.38 a barrel in early Asian trade, its highest since Jan. 8, 2020. By 12:20 a.m. EST (1720 GMT), the global benchmark was trading down $1.01 or 1.5% at $68.35.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was down 94 cents or 1.4% at $65.15 after touching $67.98 a barrel, its highest since October 2018.
Brent and WTI prices have climbed for four consecutive sessions.
(Graphic for Brent crude tops $70, WTI hits 2-year highs after reports of attacks on Saudi Arabian facilities: )
“The situation evaporated when it became obvious that there was no damage to the largest oil facility in the world,” said Bob Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho.
The attack follows last week’s move by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and their oil producing allies, known as OPEC+, to agree on broadly sticking with output cuts despite rising crude prices.
Adding support, the U.S. Senate approved a $1.9 trillion stimulus bill, which is expected to boost fuel demand as the economy gets a lift. Economic data from the United States and China was also positive.
(Graphic for Brent crude oil prices top $70/barrel for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began: )
Reporting by Noah Browning and Florence Tan; Editing by Marguerita Choy and Edmund Blair
