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    Oil Prices Slip as Middle East Supply Fears Ease and Shipping Risks Shift](TITLE)

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    Oil Prices Slip as Middle East Supply Fears Ease and Shipping Risks Shift](TITLE)

    Oil Prices Slip as Middle East Supply Fears Ease and Shipping Risks Shift](TITLE)

    November WTI crude (CLX26) declined 1.42% to -1.27, while November RBOB gasoline (RBX26) fell 1.36% to -0.0443.

    Crude oil slid to a one-month low as signals of increasing Middle East supply outflows eased global concern. Yemeni government forces also recaptured territory from Houthi rebels near the Red Sea, reducing shipping-risk premiums.

    Kuwait reported pumping roughly 75% of pre-war volumes, and Iraq is securing additional vessels to move cargoes through the Strait of Hormuz. Yemeni forces backed by Saudi Arabia retook the port of Mokha and nearby areas along the Bab el-Mandeb from Iran-aligned Houthi militants.

    Saudi Aramco cut the price of Arab Light crude to Asian buyers by $5 a barrel below the regional benchmark for November delivery, wider than the expected $5 increase. Saudi Arabia also restored about 3.5 million bpd of the East-West pipeline’s 7 million bpd capacity after drone-strike repairs.

    Shipping attacks persisted: UK Maritime Trade Operations reported a vessel hit while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, and another attack was recorded off Yemen’s Al Mukha in the Red Sea.

    Houthi territorial gains—including the capture of islands near Bab-al-Mandeb and the port of Mokha—have strengthened their ability to target ships. Saudi Arabia has pivoted to Red Sea exports after the Hormuz closure, but escalating Houthi violence is disrupting that route.

    A Wall Street Journal report said the US is deploying a third aircraft carrier strike group and 10,000 additional troops to the region, with President Trump expecting to resume bombing Iran by late November.

    JPMorgan noted Middle East crude exports have recovered to 17.5 million bpd, about 98% of pre-war levels, though refined-product flows remain at 58%. Saudi September exports hit 5.28 million bpd, the highest in seven months, while August crude production fell to 6.238 million bpd—the lowest since 1990.

    Iran’s president insisted Tehran will not allow free navigation through the Strait of Hormuz while sanctions and a US blockade remain in place.

    Vitol Group said global markets are tightening, with roughly 2 million bpd lost from Middle East exports and another 2 million bpd from Russian output hit by Ukraine’s drone campaign. Russian crude processing averaged 3.51 million bpd in July, a 24-year low, recovering slightly to 3.98 million bpd in September.

    The IEA warned that high prices and supply restrictions will drive the largest global demand drop since Covid-19, raising this year’s deficit forecast to 1.7 million bpd and pushing a surplus return to 2027.

    OPEC+ held November quotas steady, though August output fell 900,000 bpd to 19.91 million bpd. The group has restored its entire 1.65 million bpd 2023 cutback but faces hurdles from ongoing US-Iran military action.

    Vortexa said crude on stationary tankers rose 2.6% week-over-week to 97.00 million bbl. US crude inventories were 2.0% above the five-year average, while gasoline and distillates were 7.0% and 13.0% below, respectively. US production hit a record 13.955 million bpd.

    Active US oil rigs rose by one to 456, a 16-month high, according to Baker Hughes.

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