Oil prices rose on Thursday, reversing earlier losses, following a report that Chinese refiners had suspended October fuel exports, further putting pressure on war-constrained energy markets. International benchmark Brent crude due in December was last trading 2.2% higher at $100.15 a barrel, after previously trading 1% lower, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures due in November rose 1.5% to $91.74. Major PetroChina canceled a handful of gasoline and jet fuel shipments that were planned for October, citing multiple unnamed sources, as Beijing seeks to safeguard domestic supplies. CNBC could not independently verify the report. Global energy markets have been grappling with supply disruptions due to the US-Iran war in the Middle East and Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine. Oil prices had risen earlier in the session as investors eyed a recovery in Middle East crude exports. Concerns about crude supply disruptions have eased following Saudi Arabia’s resumption of tanker loading from its Red Sea port of Yanbu after the kingdom restarted operations on its East-West pipeline. “The pipeline has done a lot of the heavy lifting in getting crude oil out of the Gulf,” given that Iran has blocked the Strait of Hormuz, David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation, said Wednesday. “It’s nowhere near operating at full capacity, but the fact that it’s open provides some relief and has helped oil prices pull back,” Morrison added. Traders continue to closely monitor developments in the Middle East amid concerns that a lasting solution to the Iran conflict may be delayed, with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordering the Iranian delegation visiting the United States to leave as the UN General Assembly had ended, according to MS Now.
