The Zhitong Finance App learned that oil prices remained stable as traders continued to pay attention to Middle Eastern crude oil supply risks and diplomatic efforts aimed at ending the US-Iran war escalated. As of press release, Brent crude futures rose 0.27% to $103.47 per barrel; WTI crude futures fell 0.36% to $95.73 per barrel.
According to reports, Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Ansari said on the 20th that Qatar is maintaining communication with the US and Iran to push for the resumption of negotiations between the US and Iran. He said that several US government officials said that the US side wants to reach an agreement and end the conflict.
Ansari said during the Qatar Economic Forum held in New York, USA, that over the past few weeks, Qatar has been exchanging views with the US and Iran, and Qatar is working hard to bridge the differences. But he did not give a timeline for resuming negotiations. He said, “We have heard statements from a number of US government officials confirming that the US wants to reach an agreement and find a solution to end this war.”
Ansari said that any solution should ensure regional stability and push the international community to reach consensus on protecting strategic waterways, including the Strait of Hormuz. He pointed out that the Mander Strait is currently also affected by regional conflicts.
On the 20th local time, Iranian Parliament Speaker Kalibaf said that Iran had clearly conveyed Iran's conditions to each other through intermediaries. Unless these conditions are met, Iran's legitimate rights are recognized, and America's promises are fulfilled, it will never be possible to return to the previous state of negotiations, nor will it be possible to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Meanwhile, US President Trump said in a telephone interview on the 20th that the US and the Houthis in Yemen have always maintained communication, and the Houthis have agreed not to go to war with the US. Some media quoted an American official on the 20th as reporting that the US military will not launch an “offensive attack” against the Houthis in Yemen.
However, Yemen's Houthis announced on the evening of the 19th that the group launched two military operations, attacking “sensitive targets” in Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh and Saudi Aramco's facilities in Yanbu, respectively. Houthi spokesman Yahya Sareya Sareya said that both operations were successful in response to Saudi air strikes. Since this round of clashes, Saudi Arabia has launched 732 air raids on Yemen. He also said that the organization will continue to implement the policy of “blockade against blockade, in order to upgrade.”
As the conflict between Saudi Arabia and Yemen's Houthis escalates, traders are looking for more signs to determine whether Saudi Arabia has made progress in resuming the operation of the East-West pipeline — an oil pipeline across Saudi Arabia to the Red Sea that was attacked and forced to close earlier this month. On the 18th local time, people familiar with the matter said that Saudi Aramco has told at least two European refining customers that after Saudi Arabia's key oil pipeline leading to the Red Sea was attacked, Saudi Aramco will not continue to deliver crude oil to them in accordance with the contract next month. According to reports, European customers usually receive Saudi crude oil through long-term contracts to ensure a stable supply of crude oil every month. However, people familiar with the matter said that there will be no such deliveries next month, and the relevant decision applies to all European buyers.