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Ongoing20 earlier updates42 days

This story has run 21 times over 42 days, starting Sep 9.

  1. Houthi missiles and drones hit 4 Saudi cities, wounding 73 and halting Aramco's 400,000-barrel-a-day Jazan refinery
  2. UpdateBrent oil exceeds $100 a barrel; US diesel reaches $5.94 a gallon
  3. Houthis capture Yemen's Mokha from Saudi-backed forces 46 miles from Bab el-Mandeb
  4. UpdateHouthi forces captured Mokha and Perim island in the 28-kilometer Bab el-Mandeb strait.
  5. UpdateA day after the Bab el-Mandeb capture, maritime monitors have recorded no new transit halts
  6. UpdateSaudi Arabia shuts Hormuz-bypass pipeline, oil rises more than $3 with 4% of supply at risk
  7. UpdateHouthis seize two more Red Sea islands as Saudi pipeline faces 3-to-5-week outage
  8. UpdateSaudi Arabia suspends loadings at its last open oil terminal; September cargoes cancelled
  9. Attacks on Saudi export pipeline push WTI crude to $107.02 a barrel, a 30-day high
  10. UpdateHouthi missiles hit Riyadh, burning a fuel depot near King Khalid airport
  11. UpdateSaudi Arabia says it intercepted a Houthi missile aimed at Riyadh
  12. UpdateTrump declined a prepared U.S. air campaign against the Houthis, giving Saudi Arabia intelligence and targeting data instead
  13. UpdateSaudi Arabia tested its shut east-west pipeline for a restart as oil fell below $98
  14. UpdateStrike on Riyadh airport kills 12, including an American; Trump says the U.S. "may" join Saudi strikes on the Houthis
  15. UpdateRiyadh airport hit again Sunday, Oct. 11, killing one; Saturday's strike toll rises to at least 13, including an American
  16. UpdateSaudi Arabia investigates why its air defenses failed to stop the Houthi strike that killed at least 13 at Riyadh's airport
  17. UpdateSaudi-led coalition bombs Houthi oil facilities and a fuel depot in Yemen after a Riyadh airport strike killed at least 13
  18. Houthi strike damages 3 floors of Aramco's Dhahran headquarters, including executive offices; no casualties
  19. Brent crude touches $110 a barrel, its first time there since May 20, after Saudi-led forces intercept missiles aimed at energy hubs
  20. Iran is giving the Houthis targeting and intelligence help for their strikes on Saudi Arabia, WSJ reports
  21. UpdateBrent crude tops $111 a barrel, its highest since May, after Iran and the Houthis claim attacks on Gulf ships and Saudi oil sites — this issue
ABC NEWSUpdate

Brent crude tops $111 a barrel, its highest since May, after Iran and the Houthis claim attacks on Gulf ships and Saudi oil sites

Fuel prices
Political Guyentist · October 21, 20263 min read

ABC NEWS

Oil contracts for 2027 delivery also hit records, and gasoline averages $4.27 a gallon two weeks before the Nov. 3 midterms.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose above $111 a barrel on Tuesday, Oct. 20, after Iran and the Houthis (the Iran-backed rebels who hold most of Yemen) claimed attacks on Gulf shipping and Saudi oil facilities. It then settled near $110.30.

$109 was the intraday high for U.S. crude, its highest since April, before it eased to $105.75.

At least 18 vessels were attacked in the Strait of Hormuz in the past two weeks, per tracking firm Kpler. Hiring a large tanker to go through the strait now costs four times what it did in September, per NBC News.

A second spike. Brent closed at $72.48 on Feb. 27, the day before the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran (Reuters, BBC). It fell back to that level in late June after the June 17 U.S.-Iran memorandum reopened the Strait of Hormuz (BBC), then climbed again as Houthi and Iranian attacks resumed. The Tuesday, Oct. 20 settle near $110.30 is about 52% above that prewar close.

Deutsche Bank analysts said the record 2027 contracts are "implying an extended period of high oil prices deep into 2027."

What next. The International Energy Agency warned that energy markets won't return to normal next year.

Catch upwhat happened before · 20 earlier issues
  • Sept. 21 — Saudi Arabia shot down a Houthi missile aimed at Riyadh; the Houthis vowed to keep hitting the kingdom but spare U.S. ships.
  • Sept. 22 — Trump turned down a prepared U.S. air campaign against the Houthis, giving the Saudis intelligence and targeting data instead.
  • Sept. 23 — Saudi Arabia tested its shut east-west pipeline for a restart as oil fell below $98.
  • Oct. 10–12 — Houthi strikes on Riyadh's airport killed at least 13, including an American, and shut it until Oct. 17.
  • Oct. 14 — Saudi-led forces bombed Houthi oil sites in Yemen; Trump accused the Houthis of pushing up oil prices before the midterms.
  • Oct. 15 — A Houthi strike damaged three floors of Aramco's Dhahran headquarters; Trump said he is weighing joining Saudi strikes.
  • Oct. 17 — Brent touched $110 for the first time since May 20; U.S. crude closed at $101.41.
  • Oct. 18 — The Wall Street Journal reported Iran is giving the Houthis targeting and intelligence help.
19 earlier issues
What Washington can still do about pump prices before Nov. 3The Energy Department on Oct. 10 approved lending up to 4 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to ExxonMobil and…3 details
  • The Energy Department on Oct. 10 approved lending up to 4 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to ExxonMobil and BP, 2 million each; part of Exxon's share only speeds up oil it was already owed.
  • A new emergency sale announced now takes 13 days to start reaching the market, per the Energy Department.
  • A September offer of up to 40 million barrels is scheduled for delivery in November and December, mostly after voting.

What we’re less sure of6 of 8 claims