Finance · 08 September, 2026 · 3 min read
Houthi Attacks on Saudi Energy Facilities Push Oil Prices Near $100
Houthi attacks on Saudi energy facilities sparked fires and raised supply concerns. Brent crude rose above or near $100 per barrel amid US-Iran escalation.
Who launched the Saudi attacks.
6 of 8 outlets skipped it: kpler tracks Hormuz ship averages.
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Reuters
“after the Yemen-aligned Houthi group, backed by Iran, launched attacks on Saudi energy facilities”Read the original ↗
Reuters attributes the Saudi strikes to Iran-backed Houthis, while Anadolu emphasises broader US-Iran supply-security risks instead of naming perpetrators.
Oil near $100
Oil prices rose to their highest level in six weeks on Tuesday after the Yemen-aligned Houthi group, backed by Iran, launched attacks on Saudi energy facilities, causing fires at oil installations and stoking fears of a broader escalation in the Middle East conflict.
“Oil prices rose to their highest in six weeks on Tuesday”
Brent crude futures gained 92 cents, or 0.9%, to settle at $97.92 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate finished at $93.03 per barrel, up $1.55, or 1.7%.
The attacks on four cities in southern Saudi Arabia injured more than 70 people and set oil facilities on fire, while Houthi-affiliated media later reported Saudi fighter jets carried out airstrikes in Juba district, east of Yemen’s capital Sana’a, and in Taiz province in the southwest of the country.
Reuters also said oil exports from the Gulf region have been hard hit since Iran attacked energy infrastructure in the area and ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, following joint U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran in late February. R
Markets weigh rates
As oil extended Monday’s gains, Bloomberg reported that traders were awaiting details of a Iran-Oman agreement to manage shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, while strong Chinese demand kept the market tight.
Bloomberg said Brent crude rose 1% to $97.46 a barrel and that the MSCI Asia Pacific index of regional shares fell 0.4%, with S&P 500 futures also declining and European equity futures little changed.
Anastasia Amoroso, chief investment strategist at Partners Group, told Bloomberg Television that global stock markets could be preparing for a period of consolidation as higher oil prices pressure central banks to raise rates, adding, “We’re probably in a period of adjustment, as we’re going through a fairly significant policy shift by central banks around the world.”
Bloomberg also reported that a data-packed week in the United States ends with Friday’s inflation report, which could be crucial in determining whether the Fed raises rates or keeps them unchanged, and it noted that the run-up in energy prices adds to inflation concerns.
Strait risk and inflation
CBS News said oil prices were near $100 a barrel as the Houthis launched new attacks on Saudi energy points, with the New York Post adding that Brent crude oil futures jumped 1% to settle at $97.92 a barrel while West Texas Intermediate rose nearly 2% to $93.03.
““More than 70 people were wounded in the attacks and emergency services were still working to contain the fires””
The New York Post reported that Saudi Arabia’s Energy Ministry said operations at some of its facilities had been disrupted by strikes from Iran-aligned Houthis, and it said “More than 70 people were wounded in the attacks and emergency services were still working to contain the fires.”
Reuters warned that the attacks appear to be among the largest the kingdom has faced and threaten to further worsen global economic fallout from the war by disrupting energy supplies in the Middle East away from the Strait.
With the Strait of Hormuz central to supply, BBC reported that the war saw the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which carries 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG), and it said rising costs sparked huge price leaps in petrol around the world for motorists at the pumps.