Asia activates oil contingency plans as Saudi strike disrupts outlook

Trump suspects Iran involvement and hints at action

Saudi Arabia is not only a leading producer of crude but also holds much of the world's excess capacity of the fuel. © Getty Images

TOMIO SHIDA, Nikkei senior staff writer, and SUGURU KURIMOTO, Nikkei staff writer

September 17, 2019 04:40 JST

Updated on September 17, 2019 12:44 JST

TOKYO -- The drone strike on Saudi Arabian oil facilities on Saturday highlighted new vulnerabilities in the global crude market, shattering expectations of a downtrend in oil prices and pushing distributors to consider a potential shortage in supply.

Most market players had believed that supply would not decline drastically, regardless of tensions in the Middle East. This kept prices from topping the recent high marked in October 2018, even after oil tankers were attacked in the Strait of Hormuz near Iran this June.