[UPDATE] Saudi Arabia tested its shut east-west pipeline for a restart as oil fell below $98
Oil prices fell to two-week lows after five straight days of losses.
The Red Sea line has been shut since drone strikes on Sept. 11, while Iran called reports that it will reopen the Strait of Hormuz untrue.
PREVIOUSLY
- Sept. 9 — Houthi strikes hit 4 Saudi cities, wounding 73 and shutting Aramco's 400,000-barrel-a-day Jazan refinery.
- Sept. 12 — Drone strikes forced Saudi Arabia to close its 7-million-barrel-per-day East-West pipeline as Houthis seized key Red Sea positions.
- Sept. 16 — Aramco halted crude loadings at its Yanbu terminal and cancelled September cargoes as supertanker hire rose.
- Sept. 20 — Houthi missiles set a Riyadh fuel depot ablaze before Saudi forces intercepted another missile aimed at the capital the next day.
Key facts on oil prices and shipping flows:
- U.S. crude dropped below $93 a barrel, matching its lowest level since Sept. 8.
- The 7-million-barrel-per-day pipeline has been closed for two weeks after attacks on Sept. 11.