NEW YORK / RankWire.AI / – Oil prices declined sharply on Monday, causing key crude benchmarks worldwide to hit their lowest points in 12 days. The Brent crude settlement for November was $100.34 per barrel, reflecting a drop of $3.53, or 3.4%. Meanwhile, October West Texas Intermediate (WTI) decreased by $4.52, or 4.51%, to $95.78. Both contracts marked their lowest values since September 9 during the trading session.
On Tuesday morning, crude futures reversed their downward trend, gaining after four days of consecutive declines. By 0317 GMT, November Brent increased by $1.14, or 1.1%, reaching $101.48 a barrel. October WTI rose 87 cents, or 0.9%, to $96.65 ahead of its Tuesday expiration. The more actively traded November WTI contract also went up by 85 cents, closing at $93.22 per barrel.
Saudi Arabia’s oil exports showed signs of recovery following recent disruptions in transport routes. According to tanker-tracking data, Saudi Aramco loaded approximately 14 million barrels onto seven supertankers in the Gulf on Sunday. Over six days, Saudi crude passing through the Strait of Hormuz averaged about 2.9 million barrels daily, a significant rise from roughly 700,000 barrels per day in August.
Saudi oil shipments through Hormuz increase
This week, the UN General Assembly in New York again turned the spotlight on U.S.-Iran relations. U.S. President Donald Trump publicly expressed openness to meeting Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian during the event. Iranian officials indicated that Tehran has communicated conditions for renewed negotiations through mediators. As of Tuesday morning, no official meeting between the two leaders had been announced.
Meanwhile, regional tensions persisted alongside the growth in Saudi exports. Yemen’s Houthis claimed responsibility for attacks on Riyadh and a Saudi Aramco facility in Yanbu, a city on the Red Sea. In Libya, the National Oil Corporation reported that an armed group had closed a valve on the Sharara crude pipeline Monday, leading to a steep decline in production at one of the nation’s key oilfields.
Brent oil prices bounce back after four days of decline
The Libyan NOC noted that the valve closure disrupted the pipeline transporting Sharara crude to Zawiya Port. When their statement was issued, technical teams had not yet reached the site. Typically, Sharara produces around 300,000 barrels per day. This disruption added to existing supply constraints amid ongoing concerns about shipping conditions across major Middle Eastern export routes.
Brent briefly dipped below $100 a barrel on Monday before recovering to its $100.34 closing price. The early Tuesday rally kept the international benchmark above that threshold, while WTI also regained some of its previous losses. The focus remains on confirmed export flows, pipeline activity, and geopolitical developments involving key oil-producing nations. The recent Saudi shipments via Hormuz and the Libyan pipeline outage continue to influence supply dynamics.