Oil prices rose by more than $2 on Wednesday after an attack on a refinery in Saudi Arabia, the world's top crude exporter, renewed concerns about supply risks from the conflicts in the Middle East, Reuters reported from Singapore.

Source: Reuters

Brent crude futures rose $2.02, or 1.8%, to $115.90 a barrel as of 0735 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude gained $2.01, or 2.0%, to $101.91 a barrel. Prices had dropped nearly $2 on Tuesday before swinging higher.

$115.90Brent crude per barrel (+$2.02)
$101.91WTI crude per barrel (+$2.01)
550,000Ras Tanura capacity, barrels per day

A claimed strike Riyadh has not confirmed

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis said on Tuesday they had hit Saudi Arabia's biggest oil refinery, at Ras Tanura in the Eastern Province, with a ballistic missile. Saudi authorities did not immediately confirm the strike on the 550,000 barrel-per-day facility, and Aramco, which operates the refinery, did not immediately respond to a request for comment, Dow Jones Newswires reported.

Source: Dow Jones via Morningstar

Separately, a Saudi-led military coalition said on Tuesday that its air defences intercepted and destroyed three ballistic missiles launched toward the Eastern Province and four drones targeting the kingdom's southern region. Saudi Civil Defense also reported damage following another intercepted Houthi attack.

Markets price in re-escalation

"For now, the market is still pricing in a greater likelihood of re-escalation," ING commodity strategists said on Wednesday. "Oil prices remain elevated as the market waits for greater clarity on President Trump's next move toward Iran. If we get past the elections without renewed strikes on Iran, that might be enough for the market's risk premium to start eroding," they added. Analysts at ANZ Research said risks to crude supplies continued to increase.

US crude stocks fell by 2.03 million barrels in the week ended October 23, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute data — yaani, about 20 lakh barrels less in storage — while analysts polled by Reuters had expected a small rise. Traders now await the official US Energy Information Administration inventory report due later on Wednesday, and an OPEC+ meeting on Sunday where producers are expected to keep December output targets steady, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Why it matters for Punjabi and Indian readers

Saudi Arabia and the Gulf employ lakhs of Punjabi and Indian workers, and Ras Tanura sits at one of the kingdom's main crude-export hubs. Sustained oil prices above $115 feed directly into fuel, flight and remittance costs for diaspora families on both sides.