·
Oil
prices jumped: Brent crude rose to around $108 per barrel, up 3.2%, while WTI climbed
to just under $103,
up about 2.9%.
·
Saudi
pipeline attack: A drone
attack on a critical Saudi Arabian pipeline triggered fresh
concerns about disruptions to Gulf energy supplies.
·
Pipeline
shutdown: Saudi Arabia's Energy Ministry announced
the pipeline would be closed
as a precautionary measure following the attack.
·
Red
Sea threat intensifies: The situation worsened
after reports that Houthi
forces seized a strategic Red Sea island and a port city,
potentially creating further risks for regional shipping.
·
Strait
of Hormuz disruption: Most shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has
already been halted. Before the war, the strategically vital waterway carried up to one-fifth of global oil supplies.
·
Iran–Gulf
talks postponed: A planned meeting between Iran and
several Gulf countries affected by Iranian attacks during the war was indefinitely postponed,
adding to geopolitical uncertainty.
·
US
stock futures weaken: S&P 500 futures indicated a decline
of slightly more than 0.5%,
pointing to a weaker opening for US equities.
·
US
gasoline prices: The national average remained around $4.31 per gallon, but
prices have increased by approximately 16
cents in one week.
·
Gasoline
sharply above pre-war level: US regular gasoline
prices are now nearly 45%
higher than before the war began.
·
Diesel
hits $6.20: The average US diesel price reached $6.20 per gallon,
approximately 65% higher
than at the start of the war.
·
Delayed
fuel-price impact: Gasoline prices generally lag crude-oil movements by several days,
meaning further increases could emerge if the oil-supply disruption persists.
The combination of a Saudi pipeline
shutdown, expanding Red Sea threats and continued disruption in the Strait of
Hormuz is intensifying fears of a major Gulf energy-supply shock, pushing Brent
toward $110 and keeping inflationary pressure on gasoline and diesel prices.
[ABS News Service/14.09.2026]
Oil
prices jumped and stock futures fell slightly on Sunday on concerns that energy
supplies from the Persian Gulf would be further diminished by a drone attack on
a critical pipeline in Saudi Arabia.
The
Saudi Arabian Energy Ministry said it was closing the pipeline as a precautionary
measure, but the shutdown came after reports that the Houthi militia had seized
a strategic Red Sea island and a port city, which could further choke shipping in
the area. Already, most shipping in the nearby Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway
between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, has been halted.
Adding
to the uncertainty in the region, a planned meeting between Iran and several Gulf
Arab countries it has attacked during the war was indefinitely postponed on Sunday.
Oil prices are up.
·
The
price of Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil, rose to about $108 a barrel,
about 3.2 percent, when markets opened on Sunday.
·
West
Texas Intermediate crude, the U.S. benchmark, was up a little under $103 a barrel,
about 2.9 percent.
·
Investors
and analysts are focused on the continued disruption to shipping in the Strait of
Hormuz, the narrow waterway between Iran and Oman that is a vital trading route
for oil and natural gas. Before the war as much as one-fifth of the world’s oil
supply passed through it.
Stock futures dip slightly.
·
Futures
on the S&P 500 pointed to a small decline, a little over half a percentage point,
when stocks resume trading in the United States on Monday.
Gasoline prices are steady.
·
Gas
prices held steady over the weekend, at a national average of $4.31 a gallon, according
to the AAA motor club. But prices at the pump have risen by about 16 cents a gallon
in the last week. Prices for a gallon of regular gas are now nearly 45 percent higher
than they were before the war began.
·
Gas
prices don’t move in lock step with crude, usually trailing increases or drops by
a few days.
·
The
average price of diesel continues to rise. It was $6.20 a gallon on Sunday, up about
65 percent since the start of the war.