Oil rises on Middle East supply worries

BEIJING, Oct 21 : Oil prices edged higher on Wednesday on Middle East supply concerns, with traders wary of Red Sea shipping risks and threats to oil infrastructure in Saudi Arabia.

Brent crude futures rose 85 cents, or 0.78 per cent, to $109.64 per barrel as of 0022 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 76 cents, or 0.78 per cent, to $98.58 per barrel.

A supertanker caught fire after striking a sea mine south of the Strait of Hormuz while "violating" Iranian regulations, Iran's Revolutionary Guards Navy said on Tuesday, according to Iranian media. There were at least 18 vessel attacks reported over two weeks, shiptracker Kpler said in a note on Monday.

"Attacks on tankers have expanded beyond the Strait of Hormuz," LSEG analysts said in a note. "Iran has been targeting vessels as far south as the Gulf of Oman, threatening loadings outside of the Arab Gulf, as well as the ship-to-ship transfers that have helped to support Middle East loadings as the conflict has dragged on."

The Houthis on Monday claimed responsibility for attacks on a Saudi Aramco site in Yanbu, the Shaybah oilfield and Saudi Arabia's Riyadh and Abha airports.

The death toll from a Houthi attack on Yemeni government forces on Monday rose to 73 as fighting intensified.

Prices had fallen in the previous trading session after Iran's president discussed mediation efforts in a meeting with Pakistan's army chief in Tehran.

On Tuesday, Brent crude futures settled down 76 cents, or 0.69 per cent, at $108.79, after touching a five-month high of $111.99. The November contract for US West Texas Intermediate crude, which expired on Tuesday, settled down $1.87, or 1.8 per cent, at $101.79.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said in a television interview aired on Tuesday that Iran has not received a response from Saudi Arabia or Yemen's Houthis to its offer to help broker peace talks.

In the US, two Energy Department officials said on Tuesday they were working with refiners around the world to boost fuel output as a diesel shortage has raised prices.

US crude oil stockpiles were expected to have fallen last week along with product inventories, an extended Reuters poll showed on Tuesday. Eight analysts polled by Reuters estimated, on average, that crude inventories fell by about 800,000 barrels in the week ended October 16.