Oil Prices Continue Five-Day Decline as Brent Falls to $98.47 on September 22 and Saudi East-West Pipeline Restart Eases Supply Fears Despite Hormuz Transit Remaining Severely Constrained

Brent crude fell to $98.47 per barrel on September 22, 2026, down 1.87 percent from the previous day, while West Texas Intermediate dropped to around $95.59, extending losses for a fifth consecutive trading session as Saudi Arabia confirmed its East-West pipeline resumed pumping at a low rate on Tuesday, according to Reuters and Trading Economics. The pipeline restart, which occurred after a September 13 shutdown caused by drone attacks on pumping stations, eased fears of prolonged supply disruption even though the conduit is operating well below its stated 7 million barrel per day capacity. Al Jazeera reported that actual pipeline flows in August averaged approximately 2 million barrels per day, the lowest monthly level since January, as Houthi attacks made the Red Sea route difficult to use. Saudi Arabia loaded seven very large crude carriers with capacity for 14 million barrels at its Persian Gulf export terminals over the September 19-20 weekend, the highest observed tanker count since at least June, according to data from the European Union's Sentinel 2 satellite and TankerTrackers.com. The kingdom pivoted exports back through the Strait of Hormuz at an average rate of 2.9 million barrels per day over the six days to September 18, up sharply from approximately 700,000 barrels per day in August, according to JP Morgan analysts citing satellite data in a September 18 note. The pipeline restart, combined with Saudi Arabia's demonstrated ability to sustain elevated export volumes through Hormuz despite severe transit constraints, pushed Brent below $100 per barrel for the first time since September 9. The continued oil price decline reflects traders pricing in both the pipeline's return to service and Saudi Arabia's forced adaptation to Hormuz as its primary export route, though freight markets and diesel inventories still signal tight physical supply across the refined products complex. Diesel prices in the United States reached $6.529 per gallon on September 21