# Saudi oil attacks push prices up by highest amount since 1988 | Oil | The Guardian

> Attacks on Saudi oil infrastructure produced the biggest global price jump since 1988 by removing 5.7 million barrels per day, about 5% of world supply. Brent surged more than $12 a barrel at the London open, reaching highs of $70.88 before settling near $69, up 15% on the day. Trading was record-breaking.

- Date: 2019-09-16 · published 2019-09-16T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: geopolitics · region Saudi Arabia · magnitude high
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/5711-saudi-oil-attacks-push-prices-up-by-highest-amount-since-1988-oil-the-guardian
- Commodities: [Crude Oil (Brent)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/BRENT.md), [Crude Oil (WTI)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/WTI.md)

## Why it matters

Removing about 5% of world supply is a major shock that lifts crude benchmarks and raises energy costs across the feed chain. Elevated fuel and transport costs will persist while the outage lasts.

## Read by commodity

- WTI: bullish ▲
- BRENT: bullish ▲

## Linked price moves

| Commodity | Date | Window | Change % | z-score | Why linked |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| BRENT | 2019-09-16 | 1 | +11.7% | 4.6 | Quantifies the removal of about 5% of world supply and Brent's 15% rise on record volumes. |
| BRENT | 2019-09-15 | 1 | +7.1% | 4.6 | Describes the largest price jump since 1988 caused by the Saudi supply loss. |

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| BRENT | 2026-10-23 | [Oil prices jump $3 on Houthi attacks, oil spill, highest settlement since April By Reuters](https://feedsoft.ai/events/17214-oil-prices-jump-3-on-houthi-attacks-oil-spill-highest-settlement-since-april-by.md) | -1.7% | — |
| BRENT | 2026-03-08 | [Oil Prices Spike to Over $110 a Barrel, Highest Since Pandemic - The New York Times](https://feedsoft.ai/events/5233-oil-prices-spike-to-over-110-a-barrel-highest-since-pandemic-the-new-york-times.md) | +9.5% | +25.6% |
| BRENT | 2026-03-06 | [Iran conflict boosts US Gulf oil prices to highest since 2020 \| Reuters](https://feedsoft.ai/events/5575-iran-conflict-boosts-us-gulf-oil-prices-to-highest-since-2020-reuters.md) | +16.6% | +35.6% |
| BRENT | 2019-09-15 | [Brent crude oil spikes the most in history after Saudi attacks](https://feedsoft.ai/events/57247-brent-crude-oil-spikes-the-most-in-history-after-saudi-attacks.md) | +6.6% | -0.3% |
| BRENT | 2019-09-16 | [Oil Prices Log Historic Rally After Saudi Attack - WSJ](https://feedsoft.ai/events/5709-oil-prices-log-historic-rally-after-saudi-attack-wsj.md) | +6.6% | -0.3% |
| WTI | 2026-10-23 | [Oil prices jump $3 on Houthi attacks, oil spill, highest settlement since April By Reuters](https://feedsoft.ai/events/17214-oil-prices-jump-3-on-houthi-attacks-oil-spill-highest-settlement-since-april-by.md) | -1.0% | — |
| WTI | 2026-03-08 | [Oil Prices Spike to Over $110 a Barrel, Highest Since Pandemic - The New York Times](https://feedsoft.ai/events/5233-oil-prices-spike-to-over-110-a-barrel-highest-since-pandemic-the-new-york-times.md) | +8.5% | +25.0% |
| WTI | 2026-03-06 | [Iran conflict boosts US Gulf oil prices to highest since 2020 \| Reuters](https://feedsoft.ai/events/5575-iran-conflict-boosts-us-gulf-oil-prices-to-highest-since-2020-reuters.md) | +18.2% | +39.2% |

## Sources

- theguardian.com: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/sep/16/saudi-oil-attack-prices-up-brent-crude

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Data from Feedsoft AI (https://feedsoft.ai/). For information only; not investment advice.