Overview
- Saudi Arabia said the East–West pipeline was taken mostly out of service after a drone strike, a disruption reported on Monday that removes a key overland route used to export crude to Red Sea ports.
- Brent and WTI climbed above $100 per barrel and U.S. retail averages surged, with national gasoline around $4.31 a gallon and diesel at roughly $6.2 a gallon according to industry trackers.
- Damage to the pipeline adds to earlier disruptions that have limited tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea and to recent strikes on Russian refinery capacity, tightening refined‑product supplies especially for diesel.
- Governments and markets are reacting with price and tax moves, prediction markets that now put substantial odds on still‑higher pump prices, and central banks flagging greater inflation risk.
- Households and businesses are already paying far more for fuel — U.S. estimates show roughly $100–$110 billion extra costs since March — a burden that will push up freight and heating bills and could affect voters this election season.