Crude oil prices rise over one percent following Saudi refinery strike

Oil prices jumped more than 1% on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, after a refinery in Saudi Arabia faced an attack that brought back fears of supply shortages from the top exporter. Brent crude futures went up by $1.59, or 1.4%, to reach $115.47 a barrel by 4:35 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude increased by $1.43, or 1.4%, stopping at $101.33.

Attack and Market Reaction

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis stated on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, that they hit the biggest oil refinery in Saudi Arabia using a missile, pushing up their attacks on the world's second-biggest crude producer. Saudi authorities did not immediately confirm the hit on the 550,000 barrel-per-day plant. Prices bounced back up after falling nearly $2 on Tuesday. ING commodity strategists noted that the market still expects a high chance of fresh tension, while keeping an eye on President Trump's next steps toward Iran.

Inventories and OPEC+

Meanwhile, U.S. crude oil supplies dropped by 2.03 million barrels in the week ending October 23, according to market sources pointing to data from the American Petroleum Institute. Analysts polled by Reuters had guessed that crude inventories would grow by about 15,000 barrels instead. The market now waits for the official weekly inventory report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Traders are also watching a Sunday, November 1, 2026 meeting where OPEC+ members are expected to keep their December output targets unchanged. Production in most of the seven core OPEC+ members—Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, Algeria, Kazakhstan, and Oman—currently sits below their output goals. At the same time, Russian crude exports from Baltic and Black Sea ports could drop next month as local refiners raise diesel output after a deal with Washington.

Context

Attacks on major oil facilities in the Middle East often trigger fast price jumps because traders worry about sudden drops in global fuel supply. OPEC+ groups meet regularly to manage world oil production targets in order to balance supply and demand.