# Why is Saudi halting oil shipments through the Red Sea? | Reuters

> Saudi Arabia halted oil shipments through the Red Sea after Houthi rebels attacked two Saudi very large crude carriers. No other exporters have followed suit so far. A full blockage of the waterway would halt about 4.8 million barrels per day of crude and refined products bound for Europe and the United States.

- Date: 2018-07-30 · published 2018-07-30T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: geopolitics · region Middle East · magnitude high
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/63930-why-is-saudi-halting-oil-shipments-through-the-red-sea-reuters
- Commodities: [Crude Oil (Brent)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/BRENT.md), [Crude Oil (WTI)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/WTI.md), [ULSD / Diesel](https://feedsoft.ai/c/DIESEL.md)

## Why it matters

A halt to flows of roughly 4.8 million barrels per day is large enough to tighten global crude supply and push prices higher. Higher energy and diesel costs would raise feed milling and freight expenses.

## Read by commodity

- WTI: bullish ▲
- BRENT: bullish ▲
- DIESEL: bullish ▲

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| BRENT | 2026-04-16 | [The Iran war has shattered oil's price compass \| Reuters](https://feedsoft.ai/events/8814-the-iran-war-has-shattered-oil-s-price-compass-reuters.md) | +2.9% | +3.3% |
| BRENT | 2018-09-28 | [Why The Oil Rally Is Slowing Down \| OilPrice.com](https://feedsoft.ai/events/63203-why-the-oil-rally-is-slowing-down-oilprice-com.md) | +4.5% | -5.6% |
| BRENT | 2021-07-05 | [OPEC+ abandons oil policy meeting after Saudi-UAE clash \| Reuters](https://feedsoft.ai/events/46224-opec-abandons-oil-policy-meeting-after-saudi-uae-clash-reuters.md) | -0.6% | +0.2% |
| BRENT | 2023-12-19 | [Oil rises 1% as Red Sea shipping concerns unnerve traders](https://feedsoft.ai/events/32884-oil-rises-1-as-red-sea-shipping-concerns-unnerve-traders.md) | +2.8% | -0.1% |
| BRENT | 2026-04-29 | [Trading Day: Fed dissent, oil ascent \| Reuters](https://feedsoft.ai/events/19644-trading-day-fed-dissent-oil-ascent-reuters.md) | -1.9% | -16.4% |
| WTI | 2026-04-16 | [The Iran war has shattered oil's price compass \| Reuters](https://feedsoft.ai/events/8814-the-iran-war-has-shattered-oil-s-price-compass-reuters.md) | +1.8% | +11.8% |
| WTI | 2018-09-28 | [Why The Oil Rally Is Slowing Down \| OilPrice.com](https://feedsoft.ai/events/63203-why-the-oil-rally-is-slowing-down-oilprice-com.md) | +3.1% | -6.8% |
| WTI | 2021-07-05 | [OPEC+ abandons oil policy meeting after Saudi-UAE clash \| Reuters](https://feedsoft.ai/events/46224-opec-abandons-oil-policy-meeting-after-saudi-uae-clash-reuters.md) | -1.5% | -5.3% |

## Sources

- reuters.com: https://www.reuters.com/article/business/why-is-saudi-halting-oil-shipments-through-the-red-sea-idUSKBN1KK1ND/

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