- US crude stockpiles fall 1.9 million barrels in week ended October 23, EIA says
- OPEC+ producers expected to keep December oil output targets steady on Sunday, sources say
- Brent returned to overbought territory for the fourth time in five sessions
- Qatari mediators floated a new peace proposal, but a senior Iranian official rejected it
NEW YORK, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Oil prices climbed about 2% on Wednesday as continued fighting in Yemen and an attack on a refinery in Saudi Arabia renewed concerns about additional supply disruptions from the Middle East.
Brent futures rose $1.81, or 1.6%, to $115.69 per barrel at 10:42 a.m. EDT (1442 GMT), while US West Texas Intermediate crude rose $2.52, or 2.5%, to $102.42.
That price gain pushed Brent back into overbought territory for the fourth time in five days.
Yemen's Houthis attacked Aden airport on Wednesday, government officials said, after the Iran-aligned group warned people to evacuate the facility as fighting escalated in the impoverished country caught in the wider Middle East conflict.
On Tuesday, the Houthis said they had hit Saudi Arabia's biggest oil refinery with a missile, intensifying their strikes against the world's second-largest crude producer behind the US. Saudi authorities did not immediately confirm the strike on the 550,000-barrel-per-day facility.
"Crude futures once again pricing in nearer term tighter supplies on news the US is likely to re-start military operations soon, which could be more intense than in the past given the latest attacks on Saudi Arabia and other Middle East allies," Dennis Kissler, senior vice president of trading at US financial services firm BOK Financial, said in a note.
In recent weeks, several analysts have said renewed US strikes on Iran could happen sometime after the US midterm elections on November 3.
In hopes of ending the now eight-month-long conflict, Qatari mediators have presented Iran with a new draft deal to end the war with the US and Israel, an official briefed on the negotiations said. A senior Iranian official, however, said Doha had only put forward unacceptable ideas that did not amount to an offer.
The official briefed on the negotiations, who is not from Iran, said a new draft peace proposal was presented on Sunday and was being considered by Tehran, with a response expected by the end of the week.
Qatar, along with Pakistan, has led mediation to end the war, which has disrupted global shipping and oil supplies and has spread to Saudi Arabia and Yemen.
US OIL STOCKPILES
Another factor supporting crude prices was a US federal report showing a surprise decline in stockpiles.
The US Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday that energy firms pulled 1.9 million barrels of crude from storage during the week ended October 23.
That was a surprise draw compared with the 15,000-barrel build analysts forecast in a Reuters poll, and was in line with the 2 million-barrel-decline seen in data from the American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday, according to sources. ,
China, meanwhile, issued a fourth batch of fuel export quotas for gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, a rare additional issue that brings the 2026 total in line with 2025 despite curbs earlier in the year, three people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.
Looking ahead, the market is waiting for an industry meeting on Sunday, where OPEC+ oil producers are expected to keep their December oil output targets steady, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
Production in most of the seven core OPEC+ members — Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, Algeria, Kazakhstan and Oman — is below their output targets. OPEC+ includes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies like Russia.
Crude oil exports from Russia's Baltic and Black Sea ports could fall next month as domestic refiners increase diesel output following a deal with Washington this month, traders said.
Reporting by Scott DiSavino in New York, Stephanie Kelly in London and Jeslyn Lerh in Singapore; Additional reporting by Colleen Howe in Beijing; Editing by Christian Schmollinger, Joe Bavier Mark Potter and Bill Berkrot
Source: Reuters