Brent Tops $111 as Houthi Strikes on Saudi Arabia Rattle Oil Markets

Crude prices extended gains, with Brent trading at $111.10 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate at $98.98, both up around 2% from Wednesday, according to oilprice.com. The move followed reports that Yemen's Houthis struck an oil field in Saudi Arabia and another international airport. The U.S. federal government also ordered non-emergency personnel in the kingdom to depart, a step that reinforced perceptions of instability in a critical oil region.

The attacks mark the latest escalation affecting Saudi infrastructure, a recurring target in the broader regional conflict. Saudi Arabia is one of the world's largest crude exporters, so any threat to its production or transport capacity tends to move global benchmarks quickly. The personnel withdrawal order from Washington added a further signal that security risks are being taken seriously.

In Iran, state-linked media reported explosions in the southern part of the country without specifying their cause or origin. Separately, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi wrote in a Financial Times op-ed that Tehran is prepared to defend itself and suggested a peace deal is unlikely, saying Iran has no trust in the U.S. administration's stated desire for peace. He pointed to two instances in which the U.S. attacked Iran while nuclear negotiations were underway.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told media that peace talks cannot move forward while the United States maintains a blockade on Iran and issues threats against the country. Taken together, the statements leave the prospect of a Middle East settlement remote, with consequences for oil and gas trade flows through the region.

On the supply side, ING commodity analysts highlighted an update from the chief executive of Kuwait Petroleum Corp, who said the country's daily oil production has climbed above 2 million barrels. The analysts noted that while the crude figure is encouraging, fuel production remains a problem, with flows still well below pre-war levels.

The combination of fresh military strikes, diplomatic deadlock and uneven supply recovery has kept upward pressure on prices. Traders are watching whether further attacks on Saudi facilities or any escalation involving Iran materialize in the coming days.