Brent rises to $115.19 after claimed attack on Saudi refinery

Brent crude rose 1.2% on October 28, 2026, and traded at $115.19 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) gained 1.8% to $101.65, after Yemen's Houthis claimed on Tuesday a missile attack against Saudi Arabia's largest refinery, according to Reuters.

The targeted facility processes 550,000 barrels per day and operates alongside an export terminal in the Persian Gulf. As of the time this article closed, Saudi authorities had not confirmed the impact. CNBC's markets report put Brent at $114.68, up 0.7%, a difference that reflects the session's intraday movement. Saudi Arabia is a relevant source of fuels for the Atlantic market, and its risk passes through to buyers in Latin America and Asia that import refined product.

For Mexico, the rally arrives with fiscal support for diesel at a high point. In the week of October 17 to 23, the Ministry of Finance (Secretaría de Hacienda) set a complement of 2.35 pesos per liter that, added to the 100% IEPS stimulus of 7.36 pesos, brought total support for diesel to 9.72 pesos per liter, according to Expansión. In those dates, the IEPS rate for Magna was 2.71 pesos and for Premium, 1.91 pesos per liter.

The price of oil affects that fiscal balance through two channels: it raises the reference cost of imported fuels and widens the stimulus the government absorbs. In the market, ING noted that the market is pricing a higher probability of re-escalation, and that if the U.S. midterm elections pass without new attacks against Iran, the risk premium would begin to recede. A UBS analyst indicated that preliminary data showing a drop in U.S. crude inventories adds positive momentum to prices.

According to Rigzone, citing Bloomberg, a fire near Saudi Aramco's facilities in Ras Tanura was brought under control on Tuesday, with the extent of the damage unknown. OPEC+ producers meet on Sunday and the sources cited by Reuters expect them to keep December targets unchanged.

The next reading for Mexico will be the weekly publication of fiscal stimuli in the Diario Oficial de la Federación: its magnitude will show how the move in Brent translates into pressure on diesel.

This article was written with the assistance of artificial intelligence from verified sources and reviewed by a human editor before publication.