
Brent crude futures fell $2.92, or 2.7 percent, to settle at $105.83 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate dropped $3.40, or 3.2 percent, to $102.43.
Sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that Saudi Arabia was offering additional crude to Asian refiners through ship-to-ship transfers off Oman’s Sohar port. The move follows drone attacks that damaged the kingdom’s East-West pipeline, which supplies the Red Sea export terminal at Yanbu.
“News that Saudi Arabia is exporting from the Gulf suggests concerns about a potential worsening of the disruptions are easing,” UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said.
Prices also came under pressure after US crude inventories fell by 640,000 barrels last week, less than the 1.6-million-barrel decline expected by analysts. US petrol and distillate inventories also increased, reports AL Jazeera.