Oil rises on Middle East supply worries

Oil prices moved higher on Wednesday, with Brent up 85 cents at $109.64 a barrel and WTI rising to $98.58, according to Business Recorder. Concern centres on possible damage to oil facilities in Saudi Arabia and on shipping risks in the Red Sea. Brent had settled at $108.79 on Tuesday, having touched a five-month peak of $111.99 at one point.

According to Iranian media, a supertanker caught fire in waters south of the Strait of Hormuz after hitting a mine, which the Revolutionary Guards Navy said happened while the ship was breaching Iranian rules. Shiptracker Kpler counted at least 18 vessel attacks over two weeks, and LSEG analysts said attacks had spread past the strait as far as the Gulf of Oman.

The Houthis claimed responsibility for attacks on an Aramco site at Yanbu, the Shaybah oilfield and airports in Riyadh and Abha. The death toll from a Monday Houthi strike on Yemeni government forces climbed to 73 as fighting intensified. Two US Energy Department officials said they were coordinating with refiners worldwide to lift fuel output, as a diesel shortage had pushed prices higher. Estimates gathered by Reuters from eight analysts pointed to a drop of roughly 800,000 barrels in American crude inventories for the week to October 16.