[MARKET ANALYSIS] Oil gradually edges higher overnight with WTI returning to above USD 90/bbl amid ongoing Saudi-Houthi attacks

Supply shocks in the Gulf have historically split into two cases: attacks that damage flow and attacks that merely threaten it, and the market prices the distinction. Here the Saudi Energy Minister's confirmation that the East-West pipeline is carrying volume again, with operations restored within days of the strike, places the episode closer to the second category, which explains why a round-number reclaim in WTI has come with capped gains rather than a gap. The relevant transmission channel is the prompt end of the curve and freight and insurance costs on Gulf loadings, not the balance of annual supply, so the tell is whether timespreads and tanker rates corroborate the flat-price move. Episodes of recurring low-grade attack have tended to embed a risk premium that decays as infrastructure proves resilient, but each fresh strike resets it. Gold easing on a firmer dollar and rebounding yields alongside stronger crude is the standard configuration when the move reads as supply-driven rather than growth-positive. Copper drifting with Chinese buyers absent fits the established pattern of thin Asia sessions amplifying subdued risk appetite.