Oil prices stable

Business Recorder reported that oil prices barely moved on Tuesday, as a late rebound erased earlier declines. Brent ended 26 cents higher, a 0.3 percent gain, at USD100.58 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate closed one cent up at USD89.44. Traders weighed a rise in crude shipments from the Middle East against a coordinated Group of Seven plan to free up emergency diesel and crude stocks.

Vitol's chief executive said roughly 12 million barrels a day of crude and 2 million barrels of refined fuels had left the region on tankers over the previous seven to 10 days. Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman added that pipeline volumes via the East-West line to Yanbu hit 5.8 million barrels by Tuesday morning. Any drop in prices has been held back, though, by the chance of fresh disruptions across the Middle East.

Escalating hostilities between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis added to the uncertainty, after two Monday evening attacks on the Jazan and Najran airports injured three people, according to the Saudi aviation authority. Separately, the US National Hurricane Center put the chance of a cyclone forming over the Gulf of Mexico in the next seven days at 100 percent, a development that could curb output and damage energy infrastructure. The US Energy Information Administration projects world oil output to fall in 2026 before returning to record highs in 2027.