Houthi strikes on Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline have threatened up to 4 million barrels per day of crude exports, pushing Middle Eastern crude to $120 per barrel. Supertanker freight rates on the Middle East-to-China route reached an unprecedented $800,000 per day following US military action against five Iranian tankers, while European gas prices surged dramatically.
Global market
Houthi strikes on Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline put 3 to 4 million barrels per day of crude exports at risk. As a result, Middle Eastern crude prices jumped to $120 per barrel while benchmark ICE Brent traded at $105. Supertanker freight rates on the Middle East-to-China route surged to $800,000 per day after US forces destroyed five Iranian-linked tankers. Meanwhile, former Goldman Sachs commodities research head Jeff Currie stated that US gasoline hitting $5 per gallon before midterms is extremely likely, as nationwide US diesel hit a record $6.0556 per gallon. Additionally, the UAE is rethinking its 5-gigawatt AI data center project in Abu Dhabi following Iranian strikes on US Persian Gulf assets.
Russia & CIS
Russian European gas prices reached 12.2 times US benchmark levels, declared Russia’s Presidential Special Representative Kirill Dmitriev, blaming European bureaucracy for inflated industrial energy costs. On the industrial cooperation front, Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov reported strong interest from Indian partners in Russia’s PD-8 gas turbine engine. In nuclear energy, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi expressed gratitude to Moscow for Russia’s state corporation Rosatom assisting in the construction of the El-Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant.
Armenia
Satellite imagery detected a probable fire on Saudi Arabia’s primary oil export pipeline, news.am reported as regional supply risks intensified. The potential disruption of 4 million barrels per day of export capacity and tanker freight at $800,000 per day add indirect logistics pressures across regional markets. On the political front, Armenian entrepreneur Samvel Karapetyan noted ongoing diplomatic flexibility regarding EAEU and EU integration. Despite global price surges, retail petrol, diesel, and natural gas prices in Armenia remain stable under long-term bilateral agreements within the EAEU, shielding consumers from volatile international market price assessments.