Oil prices rise for second session on continued Middle East supply concerns
Reuters2026/09/29 03:31Updates with latest prices
By Sumit Saha and Trixie Yap
Sept 29 (Reuters) - Oil prices rose for a second successive session on Tuesday as lingering concern over Middle East supply disruption brought about by the US-Israeli war on Iran outweighed signs of recovering crude exports from the region.
Brent crude futures for November LCOc1 rose $1.71, or 1.6%, to $106.99 a barrel at 0626 GMT, while the more actively traded Brent December contract LCOc2 rose $1.68 to $99.51 a barrel. Meanwhile, US West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 was at $94, up $1.4, or 1.5%.
A day earlier, both benchmarks closed nearly $1 a barrel higher.
"A clearer picture is emerging of higher oil export volumes leaving the Gulf, but much of that increase still relies on workarounds such as ship-to-ship transfers. Those methods are less efficient and more costly than normal operations, which is why crude prices remain elevated," said KCM Trade chief analyst Tim Waterer.
Crude exports from major Middle Eastern producers climbed to 12.8 million barrels a day in September, the highest since February, preliminary figures from data provider Kpler showed on Monday, helped by increased shipments from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
US and Iranian officials spoke separately with mediators in a renewed effort to end seven months of war, officials of both countries said. Further talks are widely expected to focus on an amended version of a seven-day proposal that Iran presented last week on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
"The dominant risk remains the US-Iran standoff and its implications for energy prices and inflation expectations," said UOB analysts in a client note.
"Iranian officials have reportedly expressed pessimism about reaching a deal before the Strait of Hormuz situation escalates further, keeping oil supply uncertainty elevated."
The war, which began in late February with US and Israeli attacks on Iran, has focused attention on the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial shipping lane for oil and gas supplies, the disruption of which has upended energy markets.
Meanwhile, the US is considering regulatory relief to allow broader sales of red-dyed diesel to help lower prices, action that could allow some buyers to avoid federal fuel tax, people familiar with discussions told Reuters. The proposal emerged from days of deliberation as a leading alternative to a diesel export ban.
(Reporting by Sumit Saha in Bengaluru and Trixie Yap in Singapore; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Thomas Derpinghaus)
Disclaimer: The content of this article solely reflects the author's opinion and does not represent the platform in any capacity. This article is not intended to serve as a reference for making investment decisions.
You may also like
TSMC September sales reached 511.86 billions New Taiwan dollars, up 54.6% year-on-year.
Compared to August 2026, revenue declined slightly by 0.6%. Taking a longer-term view, TSMC's overall revenue performance in the first three quarters of 2026 has been impressive. From January to September 2026, the company’s accumulated revenue reached TWD 3,898.727 billions, achieving a significant increase of over 40% compared to the same period last year.
In September, Japanese investors withdrew from foreign bond markets for the second consecutive month.
Reuters, October 8 – In September, Japanese investors became net sellers of foreign bonds for the second consecutive month, driven by rising borrowing costs in the US and Europe, as well as increasingly attractive domestic yields that prompted them to withdraw from overseas bond markets. Data released by Japan's Ministry of Finance on Tuesday showed that Japanese investors were net sellers of 969 billion yen ($613 million) in foreign bonds last month, which was lower than the previous month's net sales of 1.16 trillion yen. They net sold 1.43 trillion yen in long-term foreign currency bonds—a six-month high—while purchasing about 457 billion yen in short-term notes. The increase in Japanese interest rates is beginning to attract some of the country's vast overseas investments back home, marking a significant shift in global capital flows. Year to date, Japanese investors have net sold about 5.08 trillion yen in foreign bonds, the highest since 2022. This capital outflow could support the yen’s exchange rate and put pressure on bond markets that have long considered Japan a major buyer. Soaring energy costs have heightened inflation concerns, prompting the Federal Reserve (FED) and the European Central Bank to raise interest rates in September, which has further pressured global bond markets. Earlier this week, Japan's benchmark 10-year government bond yield rose to 3.122%, its highest in 30 years, increasing the appeal of domestic bonds. In September, led by the Bank of Japan, Japanese institutions sold a net 2.49 trillion yen in long-term foreign bonds, a seven-month high. Life insurance companies and investment trust managers also recorded net sales of 288.6 billion yen and 200.1 billion yen respectively. However, trust accounts net purchased 1.2 trillion yen in long-term foreign currency bonds, highlighting divergent investment strategies among Japanese institutional investors. Another Bank of Japan report showed that in the first eight months of this year, Japanese investors net sold 4.74 trillion yen in US Treasuries, while net purchasing 355.85 billion yen in European bonds. Within Europe, Japanese investors net bought 329.82 billion yen in Italian bonds, while net selling 208.59 billion yen and 94.25 billion yen in French and German bonds, respectively. (1 US dollar = 158.1400 yen)
Japan’s Takaichi says does not require reflationary policy now
Michael Burry Calls Anthropic's Valuation a Bubble Worth 78 S&P 500 Companies
Crypto prices
More
