Prices during the reported session
Brent crude rose 1.5% to $111.7 a barrel during the evening of October 20, its highest reported level since May. US West Texas Intermediate gained 5.2% to $110, the highest level cited since April. These are prices at the report's trading snapshot, not confirmed daily settlements or a live current quotation.
The market move followed a claim by Yemen's Houthi movement that it had attacked Saudi energy, airport and military infrastructure on October 19. Saudi authorities had not confirmed those claims at publication. The stated targets and the market's response must therefore be distinguished from independently verified damage or supply losses.
Risk premium and inventory context
ING analysts said the strength of oil prices suggested a substantial risk premium amid uncertainty. They added that this premium could fade if oil continued to flow, while saying there was not yet a clear sign of such a change.
The report also cited vessel-tracking firm Kpler's account of at least 18 ships believed to have been attacked over the preceding two weeks. That information was presented as part of the supply-risk context.
In the United States, analysts expected crude and refined-product inventories to have fallen in the previous week. Energy Department data cited in the article put the strategic crude reserve at just over 282 million barrels, its lowest since 1982. Expected weekly inventory changes remain estimates, while the reserve figure refers to the separately reported stock level.