Crude oil rises above $103 to four-month high

Crude oil moved above $103 a barrel on Monday, reaching a four-month peak as supply curbs from the Middle East intensified amid the war in Iran. Saudi Arabia shut its East-West pipeline after attacks from Iraqi territory. The strikes interrupted infrastructure that was moving 7 million barrels per day of Saudi oil to the Red Sea as an alternate route to shipments halted in the Persian Gulf because of the Iranian blockade on GCC oil exports. Planned talks between the GCC and Iran, aimed at joint efforts to restart oil supply from the region, were postponed by Tehran.

The prolonged halt in tanker flows has pushed major oil producers to stop operations, with Saudi output recently falling to its lowest since 1990. Falling oil stockpiles in China prompted the major importer to increase August orders, while the US SPR remains near a record low.