Oil Falls Nearly 2% as Middle East Supply Fears Ease, G7 Reserve Release Weighs

Oil prices fell nearly 2% on Tuesday as supply concerns eased on rising Middle Eastern crude exports and a Group of Seven agreement to release emergency diesel and crude stockpiles. Brent futures were down $1.84, or 1.8%, at $98.48 a barrel at 10:30 a.m. EDT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude fell $1.42, or 1.6%, to $88.01. Brent was on track for its lowest close since September 8, and WTI since August 31. Vitol's CEO said about 12 million barrels per day of crude and 2 million bpd of refined products left the Middle East on tankers in the last 7 to 10 days. Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said East-West Pipeline flows reached 5.8 million barrels as of Tuesday morning. The G7 agreed Friday to release 100 million barrels of diesel and crude from emergency reserves without providing a volume breakdown. Declines were capped by possible further supply disruptions after attacks on Saudi airports in Jazan and Najran on Monday evening.