Saudi Arabia reported an attack on its energy assets by the "terrorist" Houthi group, causing temporary pauses in operations and injuring 73 civilians. The incident has driven up oil prices, with Brent reaching nearly $99 per barrel and US crude rising over 2.5% to almost $94 per barrel. Saudi Arabia is the world's largest oil exporter, and the attack comes amid heightened tensions following recent strikes by the US on Iranian oil tankers. Analysts at Goldman Sachs and HSBC predict that if Persian Gulf oil flows remain low, oil prices could exceed $120 per barrel.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-08,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it +0.35, but none of the 2 quote(s) it offered could be found in the article text, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
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Leaning score withheld for article 7142: no verified evidence · logged 2026-09-08
Brent, the international oil benchmark, touched $99 per barrel Tuesday after Saudi Arabia reported an attack on energy assets that caused temporary pauses in operations.
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that → touch → operations
U.S. crude oil also rose by more than 2.5% to nearly $94 per barrel.
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oil → rise → barrel
Wholesale gas prices rose 1.4%.
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prices → rise → ?
The state-run Saudi Press Agency said the attacks were carried out by the “terrorist” Houthis.
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attacks → run → Houthis
It also said that 73 civilians were injured following the attacks.
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civilians → say → attacks
The Saudis also condemned the Houthis’ attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea, which is to the west of Saudi Arabia, and their “threats to freedom of international maritime navigation.”
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which → condemn → navigation
The latest escalation came after the U.S. on Sunday struck three Iranian oil tankers, sinking one of the vessels.
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U.S. → come → vessels
The strikes came after Iran launched ballistic missiles toward U.S. Navy ships.
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Iran → come → ships
The renewed hostilities have kept Strait of Hormuz traffic at a minimum, with just four ships passing through the waterway Saturday, followed by six passings Sunday.
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ships → renew → passings
Before the war, the strait carried more than 20% of the world’s energy supply as that oil shipped to ports around the globe.
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oil → carry → globe
Meanwhile, vessel traffic in the equally important Bab el Mandeb strait, located between the Arabian Peninsula and northeastern Africa, was slightly compressed from the previous week.
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traffic → locate → week
According to figures from MarineTraffic, vessel transits fell 16% from the prior week, although overall traffic of more than 260 ships last week was still significantly higher than in the Strait of Hormuz.
uncertain
traffic → accord → Hormuz
On Tuesday, the national average gas price was unchanged from Monday at $4.15 per gallon, however it has risen 6 cents from a week ago and 14 cents from a month ago.
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it → rise → gallon
Since the war started, Brent has risen 36%, and motor club AAA’s national average gas price has risen 40%.
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price → start → ?
Since the start of the year, the price of oil as measured by Brent is higher by more than 62%.
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price → measure → %
On Friday, diesel fuel hit its highest price ever.
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fuel → hit → price
On Saturday, it continued ticking higher to $5.90 per gallon, according to AAA data.
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it → tick → data
It has remained at that level since the weekend.
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It → remain → weekend
The price of oil remains a significant concern for the White House as the midterm elections near.
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elections → remain → House
On Monday, President Donald Trump asserted in a social media post that “oil prices will drop precipitously, like everything else is dropping (but more!), when we WIN the war with Iran.”
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we → assert → Iran
He claimed that prices could fall to as low as “two dollars a gallon.”
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prices → claim → dollars
On Monday, Goldman Sachs commodities analysts said there could still be “significant” upside risk to prices.
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analysts → say → prices
They forecast that if Persian Gulf oil flows remain low, “Brent might exceed $120.”
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Brent → forecast → 120
“We view more intense shipping attacks in Hormuz and the Red Sea as the most likely driver of this lower-output, higher-price scenario,” they wrote in a note to their clients.
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they → view → clients
HSBC’s analysts agreed.
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analysts → agree → ?
“If diplomacy fails and Hormuz flows stay near current levels, inventories could draw toward operational lows and Brent could rise” to around $120, they wrote Tuesday.
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they → fail → 120
Inventories, or global stockpiles of crude oil, have been drawn down at a rapid clip after governments around the world, in coordination with the International Energy Agency, in early March agreed to release 400 million barrels of oil in a bid to ease soaring prices.
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governments → draw → prices
HSBC’s oil and gas analysts said that their current base case is for Brent to hover around $95 through the end of the year.
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Brent → say → year
However, they also warned that their forecast for Brent has been revised higher to $85 per barrel for 2027 and $75 per barrel “for 2028 and beyond.”
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forecast → warn → 2028
Before the U.S. and Israel launched the war against Iran on Feb. 28, Brent traded around $70.
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Brent → launch → 70
“Markets are increasingly pricing a prolonged Mideast conflict,” Goldman Sachs’ team added in their note.
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team → price → note
Higher oil prices have also translated into higher bond yields.
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prices → translate → yields
On Tuesday, the benchmark 10-year yield neared 4.80%, its highest level since early last week.
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yield → near → week
Stock futures pointed to a largely flat open when trading begins at 9:30 a.m. ET in New York.
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trading → point → York
