# Brent slips to about $115 despite new Houthi claims of strikes on Saudi oil infrastructure

Brent fell 1.34% on Monday after rising 6% last week, while the US military says it has escorted more than 3,000 commercial vessels and 1.5 billion barrels of Gulf oil through the Strait of Hormuz.

- Published: 2026-10-26T05:15:30.644Z
- Canonical: https://polylog.news/2026-10-26/brent-slips-to-about-115-despite-new-houthi-claims-of-strike
- Publisher: Polylog (Global desk)
- Section: markets
- Sources: [The Nation Thailand](https://www.nationthailand.com/news/world/40072732), [The Hindu](https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/intercepted-missile-after-houthis-hit-riyadh-airport-says-saudi-coalition/article71625586.ece), [TASS (Russian)](https://tass.ru/mezhdunarodnaya-panorama/28252609), [Al Jazeera](https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2026/10/26/us-military-says-it-helped-gulf-states-export-1-5-billion-barrels-of-oil)

Brent crude futures [fell $1.56, or 1.34%, to $115.16 a barrel](https://www.nationthailand.com/news/world/40072732) on Monday morning. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) fell $1.60, or 1.55%, to $101.67. Brent had settled nearly $3 higher on Friday and gained 6% over the week. Traders reduced positions because the weekend brought no broader escalation, even though attacks on Saudi Arabia continued. Gulf-loaded crude moved the other way: [Gulf News reported](https://gulfnews.com/business/energy/crude-oils-weird-monday-brent-wti-slip-as-attacks-rattle-markets-murban-jumps-3-to-118-1.500723522) that Abu Dhabi's Murban grade rose 3% to $118.

Yemen's Houthi movement [said it struck Saudi oil infrastructure](https://tass.ru/mezhdunarodnaya-panorama/28252609) and fired ballistic missiles at military targets of the Saudi-led coalition in the Yemeni provinces of Aden and Lahj, according to Russia's state agency TASS. The coalition said it [intercepted a missile](https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/intercepted-missile-after-houthis-hit-riyadh-airport-says-saudi-coalition/article71625586.ece) after the Houthis struck Riyadh's airport again. The Hindu noted that the Houthis have hit King Khalid International Airport repeatedly, including an attack this month that killed 13 people and injured more than 300. Neither side's claims about the latest strikes can be independently verified.

Washington is presenting the Gulf flows as a success. US Central Command [said it has helped more than 3,000 commercial vessels transit the Strait of Hormuz](https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2026/10/26/us-military-says-it-helped-gulf-states-export-1-5-billion-barrels-of-oil) and has supported the export of 1.5 billion barrels of Gulf oil, Al Jazeera reported. In September, Admiral Brad Cooper had [put the figure at 1 billion barrels over two months](https://english.aawsat.com/node/5320333) and said Iran could not export a single barrel under the US blockade. The new figure implies escorted flows have continued at roughly the same pace.

## What this means

The risk premium is shifting from the strait itself onto Saudi land infrastructure, and an escort fleet cannot protect pipelines, processing plants or airports. Saudi Arabia, the producer with the most spare capacity, is now a target rather than a buffer, which removes the usual cap on price spikes. Importers in Asia and Europe pay through freight, insurance and refined-product margins. Producers outside the Gulf, including Russia and US shale, collect the extra revenue. Monday's dip reflects traders unwinding positions after a 6% weekly gain, not a lower assessment of the risk. The Murban premium shows buyers paying more for barrels they can secure. The precedent is the 2019 Abqaiq attack, when prices spiked and then gave back the gain within weeks once Saudi output was restored. The difference now is that the attacks are repeated, not a single event. The likelier outcome is that Brent stays in a high, volatile range for weeks while strikes on Saudi territory continue. A confirmed hit on a major processing facility that cuts output would push prices higher, and a verifiable Houthi pause tied to US-Iran talks would remove much of the premium.

## What to watch

- Whether Saudi Aramco reports any production or export loss from the claimed strikes. Damage to output, rather than intercepted missiles, is what moves the physical market.
- The spread between Murban and Brent. A wider gap shows buyers paying more for secure Gulf-loaded barrels, even when futures prices fall.
- War-risk insurance rates for tankers loading in the Red Sea and the Gulf. Rising premiums would show shipping lanes previously considered insulated now carrying the conflict's costs.