Oil prices fell midweek after logging their biggest jump in 30 years following the weekend drone attacks, which cut Saudi Arabia’s production in half in a real threat to the health of the global economy.

The slide was also aided by a surprise rise in weekly US inventories reported by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).

In response to the attacks, international benchmark Brent surged nearly 20% to $71.95 per barrel in intraday trading on Monday - the biggest intraday jump since 14 January 1991 - before ending the day nearly 15% higher.

However, prices then tumbled 6% on Tuesday after Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said the kingdom had restored oil supplies to customers at allocated levels before the attacks by drawing from its inventories.

The aerial attacks, blamed on Iran but claimed by Houthi rebels in Yemen, forced Saudi Aramco’s crude-processing facilities at Abqaiq and Khurais to cut output by 5.7 million barrels per day. The prince promised to resume normal Saudi output of about 10 million bpd by October.

International benchmark Brent futures were fetching around $64.2 per barrel in London in the middle of this week, compared to $61.3 at the same time last week.

Meanwhile, US West Texas Intermediate crude was changing hands at around $58.7 per barrel in New York trading, up from last week’s $56.2.

The EIA reported a crude inventory build of 1.1 million barrels for the week. Gasoline stockpiles rose by 800,000 barrels while distillates gained 400,000 barrels.

Analysts warned against complacency in view of the rising tensions in the Persian Gulf, with Saudi Arabia holding Iran directly responsible for the devastating attack at the heart of its oil industry.

“As much as the Saudis have downplayed the extent of the latest outages, we should not be lulled into a false sense of security,” said Stephen Brennock of London-based oil brokerage PVM.

“Tensions in the region are still running high and the spectre of a further escalation is hanging over the oil market.”

US President Donald Trump ordered a major increase in sanctions on Iran as Saudi Arabia displayed remnants of drones and missiles it said Tehran had used in the crippling weekend attack on its oil facilities.

Weekly

Oil falls back as Saudis restore output quickly