Oil steadies on rise in Middle East crude exports and G7 stocks release

Business Recorder reported that oil prices inched up in choppy trading on Monday, helped by a rise in Middle Eastern crude shipments and a pledge from the Group of Seven nations to add supplies. Brent was priced at $102.41 a barrel by 1138 GMT, 16 cents higher on the day, while US West Texas Intermediate slipped 90 cents to $90.21. Both benchmarks had dropped by more than 1 per cent earlier in the session.

On Friday, the G7 bloc committed to unlocking emergency stocks of 100 million barrels, covering crude and diesel, and to avoid curbing energy exports after a push from US President Donald Trump. Saxo Bank analyst Ole Hansen argued that these releases offer only brief relief and do little to resolve limits on refined fuels. Saudi Aramco chief executive Amin Nasser anticipated tight supplies of crude and refined fuel, and said rebuilding inventories depleted by emergency sales could take two years.

The Houthis claimed to have struck Aramco facilities in Riyadh and Khurais with missiles and unmanned aircraft, citing 50 Saudi-led strikes in Yemen over the previous 12 hours, though Saudi Arabia has not confirmed this. OPEC+ has postponed a review that would set 2027 output quotas, as the Iran war hampered plans to add capacity across the region.