Oil prices rose on Wednesday after an attack on a refinery in Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest crude exporter, renewed concerns about risks to supply in the Middle East stemming from the conflict with Iran and its proxies, Reuters reported from Beijing. Brent crude futures rose $1.48, or 1.3%, to $115.36 a barrel as of 0140 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude rose $1.22, or 1.22%, to $101.12 a barrel.

Source: Reuters

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis said on Tuesday they had hit Saudi Arabia's biggest oil refinery, Ras Tanura, with a missile, intensifying their strikes against the world's second-largest crude producer, Reuters said. Saudi authorities did not immediately confirm the strike on the 550,000 barrel-per-day facility — yaani a refinery that can process about 5.5 lakh barrels of crude a day. Awaaz Punjab reports the refinery hit as the Houthis' claim, not a Saudi-confirmed fact.

$115.36Brent crude per barrel at 0140 GMT on Wednesday, up $1.48 or 1.3% (Reuters)
$101.12WTI crude per barrel, up $1.22 or 1.22% (Reuters)
$4,000+Gold per ounce, held above that level ahead of the Fed decision (TradingView / Moneycontrol)
$54.41Silver per ounce, little changed (TradingView / Moneycontrol)

Prices were swinging back after dropping nearly $2 on Tuesday as talks in the Middle East helped ease supply worries, Reuters said. Brent later climbed toward $116 a barrel, snapping a two-day drop, while WTI stayed above $101, TradingView's commodity report said. That was despite data expected to show a rise in US crude inventories: stockpiles rose by about 15,000 barrels in the week ended October 23, according to a poll of eight analysts by Reuters.

Gold holds above $4,000 as the Fed decides today

Gold steadied above $4,000 an ounce as dip buyers entered the market before the US Federal Reserve's interest-rate decision due later on Wednesday, holding a 1.1% gain from the previous session, TradingView reported. Silver was little changed at $54.41 an ounce, platinum was marginally lower and palladium edged up, it said. The dollar was mixed against its Group-of-10 peers as investors waited for rate decisions from both the Federal Reserve and the Bank of Canada on Wednesday. In Asian trade, FXStreet put WTI near $100.50 and gold slipping 0.3% to near $4,050, showing how quickly prices were moving during the session.

For Punjab, Canada and the wider diaspora, the oil move matters directly: dearer crude feeds into diesel, freight and air fares, and into inflation that central banks are weighing today. The next direction depends on whether the Saudi refinery claim is confirmed, whether Middle East talks ease supply worries again, and what the Fed signals later on Wednesday, the reports said.