The Houthis said yesterday they hit Saudi Arabia’s biggest refinery with a missile, and Saudi authorities did not immediately confirm any damage. The plant has a capacity of 550,000 barrels a day.
Brent traded at $115.24 at 08:58 GMT, up $1.36 or 1.2 per cent from yesterday’s close, while WTI stood at $101.52, up $1.62 or 1.6 per cent. Oil fell by nearly $2 yesterday as regional talks eased worries, so today’s rise reverses part of that drop.
Currencies barely noticed. USD/CAD traded at 1.4059 at 10:19 GMT, up 7 pips or 0.05 per cent from yesterday’s close of 1.4052, inside a day range of 1.4037 to 1.4068. USD/NOK stood at 9.3279 at 10:20 GMT, down 0.10 per cent from 9.3369.
USD/JPY traded at 157.87 at 10:20 GMT, down 7.9 pips or 0.05 per cent from 157.95. EUR/USD was unchanged at 1.1127 at 10:19 GMT. Each pair held a narrow range through the morning.
The wider picture for USD/CAD is a drift lower. It traded at 1.4059 at 10:19 GMT, about 0.8 per cent below the 1.4174 close on 28 September, after a daily close of 1.4260 on 5 October.
What moves this next is confirmation from Riyadh. Damage at the refinery would turn a claim into lost supply, while silence leaves it as headline risk. US Energy Information Administration inventory data is due later today.
OPEC+ is expected to keep its December output targets steady at its meeting on 1 November, Reuters reported, citing people with knowledge of the plans. ING’s commodity strategists pointed to the US midterm elections on 3 November as the next test for the risk premium in crude:
If we get past the elections without renewed strikes on Iran, that might be enough for the market’s risk premium to start eroding
ING commodity strategists
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