Overview
- On Wednesday, July 29, US Central Command and Saudi forces carried out joint precision strikes on Iran-linked militia sites in eastern Iraq and Saudi officials said the strikes were a response to recent drone attacks on energy infrastructure.
- Hours after the strikes, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it launched ballistic missiles at US forces and CENTCOM reported the missiles were intercepted with no US casualties reported.
- Market moves were reinforced by a reported American Petroleum Institute crude draw of about 3.3 million barrels and by traders pricing in the possibility that OPEC+ will pause planned production increases.
- Brent and WTI surged several percentage points in volatile trading, with benchmarks moving into the mid-to-high $80s per barrel and intraday reports near $90 as shipping risks in the Red Sea and Bab el‑Mandeb tightened flows.
- Shipping disruptions have already forced measures such as rerouting Saudi crude through Egypt’s SUMED pipeline and traders are now watching official EIA inventory data, OPEC+ decisions and further Houthi or Iran-linked actions for signs of wider supply disruption and near-term fuel-price pressure.