There are signs that supply disruptions in the Middle East may ease. Saudi Arabia is seeking to restore part of the capacity of an important pipeline, and oil prices continue to fall as a result. Brent crude oil fell 2.7% on Wednesday and is now trading around $102 per barrel. The price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil has fallen below $100. Saudi Arabia's east-west pipeline was shut down after being attacked by drones last week. Currently, the country plans to restore about half of the pipeline's transportation capacity within a few days. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has sold more crude oil to Asian refiners, which can be picked up at locations outside the Strait of Hormuz. Risks still exist: the US-Iran conflict impacted energy circulation in the Middle East, and the Russian-Ukrainian conflict continues. Traders are also closely watching the movements of the Houthis in Yemen. The armed forces are advancing towards the key Mander Strait at the southern tip of the Red Sea and continue to attack Saudi oil facilities and shipping assets. Oil prices fell further on Thursday due to reports related to the armistice. Arne Roman Rasmussen, chief analyst at Copenhagen Global Risk Management, said, “The resumption of operations of the East-West pipeline, and the ship-to-ship transfer of Saudi crude oil through the Strait of Hormuz, is bad for crude oil in the short term. But as long as the Houthi conflict continues, it will be difficult for the market to relax.”

There are signs that supply disruptions in the Middle East may ease. Saudi Arabia is seeking to restore part of the capacity of an important pipeline, and oil prices continue to fall as a result. Brent crude oil fell 2.7% on Wednesday and is now trading around $102 per barrel. The price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil has fallen below $100. Saudi Arabia's east-west pipeline was shut down after being attacked by drones last week. Currently, the country plans to restore about half of the pipeline's transportation capacity within a few days. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has sold more crude oil to Asian refiners, which can be picked up at locations outside the Strait of Hormuz. Risks still exist: the US-Iran conflict impacted energy circulation in the Middle East, and the Russian-Ukrainian conflict continues. Traders are also closely watching the movements of the Houthis in Yemen. The armed forces are advancing towards the key Mander Strait at the southern tip of the Red Sea and continue to attack Saudi oil facilities and shipping assets. Oil prices fell further on Thursday due to reports related to the armistice. Arne Roman Rasmussen, chief analyst at Copenhagen Global Risk Management, said, “The resumption of operations of the East-West pipeline, and the ship-to-ship transfer of Saudi crude oil through the Strait of Hormuz, is bad for crude oil in the short term. But as long as the Houthi conflict continues, it will be difficult for the market to relax.”