International oil prices fell for a sixth straight session, with Brent down about 1% to $98.30 and WTI down 1.4% to $89.49. U.S.-Iran talks held at the United Nations, alongside the restart of a previously disrupted Saudi pipeline, eased concerns over potential Middle East supply disruptions. Saudi Aramco plans to restore pipeline flows to roughly 4 million barrels per day (bpd) within a few weeks.

Satellite imagery indicates Saudi Arabia is redirecting crude exports away from the Red Sea route via Yanbu toward Persian Gulf terminals, with the number of supertankers there over the weekend reaching the highest level since June. Over the past six days, the kingdom moved 2.9 million barrels a day of crude through the Strait of Hormuz. The shift follows a September 11 drone attack launched from Iraq that shut Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline, which can carry as much as 7 million barrels a day.

Crude prices slipped to their lowest level in more than a week, with Brent at $102.05 a barrel and WTI at $98.50. Traders focused on the prospect that a UN meeting this week could spur U.S.-Iran diplomatic progress, even as Washington and Tehran traded fresh threats over the weekend. On the supportive side, Saudi Arabia has rerouted oil flows, lifting average daily exports through the Strait of Hormuz to 2.9 million barrels over the past week, up from 700,000 barrels in August.

Libya’s National Oil Corporation said it may declare force majeure after members of the force tasked with protecting oil infrastructure shut pipeline valves, stopping output at two oilfields. The country’s crude production is about 1.4 million barrels per day, the highest level in more than a decade, and NOC is targeting 1.6 million bpd by the end of 2026. The incident underscores the ongoing risk of oil supply disruptions in Libya.

The White House is weighing the use of the Defense Production Act to boost U.S. refining capacity as domestic refineries run at 98% utilization and diesel tops $6 per gallon for the first time. Refinery utilization stayed above 95% for three straight months through late August, the longest stretch since 2000. The market has tightened after about 7 million bpd of capacity went offline in Asia and the Middle East and another 1.4 million bpd became unavailable in Russia, according to Phillips 66. U.S. diesel inventories are now 13% below their fiveyear average.

Energy Aspects founder and market intelligence director Amrita Sen said the oil market has reached an “inflection point,” with the price trend pointing higher as global inventories are being drawn down faster and China’s crude buying has rebounded. She estimated China will import about 10 million barrels per day of crude in September, roughly 3 million bpd more than in June when imports fell below 7 million bpd to a decade low. Sen also said global inventories fell by 120 million barrels over the past two weeks, helping lift oil above $100 a barrel for the first time since July, according to Bloomberg.

OPEC has raised its forecast for global oil demand growth in 2027 to 2.36 million barrels per day, up from an expected increase of 380,000 bpd this year—more than a sixfold jump. The group now sees total global consumption reaching 108.19 million bpd in 2027. China’s demand is expected to be nearly flat this year, but OPEC projects an increase of 380,000 bpd in 2027 to 17.28 million bpd. India is forecast to add 400,000 bpd next year to 6.11 million bpd, while non-OECD countries together account for about 1.6 million bpd of the increase.

Brent crude is closing in on $100 per barrel as escalating tensions between the United States and Iran heighten fears of supply disruptions and growing threats to Gulf shipping. Iran warned Washington of “economic warfare” and said it fired a new advanced missile at U.S. warships, while Saudi Arabia’s Jizan refinery was hit again, a facility with daily capacity of 400,000 barrels. Analysts have begun forecasting the crisis could extend into 2027 and have raised their oil-price expectations.

Ryanair said a spike in jet fuel prices driven by the Iran war has led it to cut its winter passenger target for this year to 214m from 216m. The airline said the 20% of its fuel that was not hedged more than doubled to $150 per barrel, pushing operating costs up 11% to €3.8bn in the three months to June. Pretax profit fell 36% to €593m. Ryanair warned that if oil prices stay elevated, weaker European airlines could be forced to shrink or go out of business.