Sharp rise in oil prices following attack on Saudi facilities

Oil prices reached their highest level in four months after an attack on two Saudi oil facilities Saturday reduced global oil supplies by 5%.

At the start of the session, Brent jumped 19% to $ 71.95 per barrel, while WTI rose 15% to $ 63.34.

Oil prices fell slightly after US President Donald Trump approved the use of US reserves.

It may be several weeks before the two Saudi facilities are fully operational.

Saudi Aramco, the national oil giant, has cut production by 5.7 million barrels a day as the company prepares for what should be the company's largest stock market listing.

Strikes in the heart of the Saudi oil industry hit the world's largest oil processing plant. The United States blamed Iran.

"The Saudi authorities claim that the fires are under control, but that does not mean that they have extinguished them," said Abhishek Kumar, chief analyst at Interfax Energy in London. Nature "

Saudi Arabia should use its reserves to keep exports at normal levels this week.

But Michael Tran, director of petroleum strategies at RBC Capital Markets in New York, said that "even if production returns to normal soon, the threat of eliminating about 6% of production is no longer a theory either. a lie".

Iran accused the United States of "disappointment" after US Secretary of State Mark Pompeo said Tehran was responsible for the bombing. Pompeo rejected the claims of the Houthis in Yemen that they had perpetrated the attack.

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that "blaming Iran would lead to disaster" in Yemen.

Riyadh accused Iran of being responsible for previous attacks on fuel pumping stations, Tehran denied. But Saudi Arabia has again accused no one of participating in Saturday's attacks.