Oil little changed as supply concern lingers amid Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia

Crude benchmarks eased slightly in Asian trading on Friday, following a 4% jump the day before that took Brent to a five-month peak. At 0030 GMT, Brent stood at $112.96 a barrel, down 21 cents, while West Texas Intermediate was $98.12, lower by 27 cents. Business Recorder reported that Brent was on course for a third weekly advance, while WTI was headed for a weekly decline after two weeks of gains.

Concerns about supply routes and production remain in focus after Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, the world’s leading crude exporter. Reuters reported that Saudi Aramco ordered its Dhahran headquarters evacuated as fighting intensified, while Libya’s National Oil Corporation said a pipeline closure had reduced output at the Hamada and Tahara fields. The report also noted that Russia was prepared to restart US-mediated talks with Ukraine next month, while sanctions on Russian energy have contributed to higher oil prices.