Oil Prices Fall as Investors Focus on Rising Middle Eastern Exports

Oil prices fell on September 29 after investors focused on signs of a recovery in oil exports from the Middle East, according to Reuters.

Brent futures fell more than 2% on Tuesday, to $102.77 per barrel; U.S. WTI prices fell to $90.1, but later partially recovered from that decline and, at the time of publication, were trading around $104 and $91.4, respectively. Overall in September, Brent and WTI rose by approximately 14% and 5.6%.

Oil prices, despite ongoing supply risks linked to the continuing war in the Middle East, are being influenced by data showing that crude oil exports from key Middle Eastern countries rose to 12.8 million barrels per day in September— the highest level since February. Representatives of the monitoring company Kpler shared this preliminary information on September 28.

In addition, Saudi Arabia has resumed oil shipments from the port of Yanbu on the Red Sea following the restoration of operations on the East-West oil pipeline, Reuters reports, citing information from trading sources and industry representatives. This improves the outlook for Middle Eastern exports, the agency notes.

“A clearer picture is emerging of the growth in oil exports from the Persian Gulf, but a significant portion of this increase still relies on workarounds, such as ship-to-ship transfers,” said Tim Waterer, chief analyst at KCM Trade (as quoted by Reuters). These methods are less efficient and more expensive than the usual transport of crude oil by tanker, which is why oil prices remain high, he added.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor