A drone attack on critical Saudi oil facilities over the weekend could disrupt up to HALF of Saudi Arabia's oil production.
Many asian countries, including South Korea, is keeping a close watch on the situation... while the U.S. is going to tap reserves to keep the market supplied.
Hong Yoo has more.
Oil prices soared nearly 20 percent when markets reopened after Saturday's drone attacks on Saudi Arabia's main oil processing plants, which had supplied some 5 percent of the world's oil.
But crude oil prices stabilized after the initial spike... after Saudi officials said a third of crude output could resume by Monday.
As markets opened Monday in Asia, the Singapore Exchange saw Brent crude trading at more than 71 U.S. dollars per barrel on the oil futures markets, up 19 percent from Friday's close.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate crude opened at 63 dollars, also rising more than 15 percent from the previous close.
The surge came as Saudi Arabia's state-run oil company, Saudi Aramco,... temporarily closed facilities accounting for more than half its production.
Saudi Arabia's energy minister Abdulaziz bin Salman says the strikes will cut the kingdom's oil output by 5-point-7 million barrels a day.
The most vulnerable countries including South Korea and China,... which import large quantities of oil from Saudi Arabia,... showed mixed market reactions during Monday's trading session.
South Korea's benchmark KOSPI index, closed up 0-point-6-4 percent,... while China's Shanghai SE Composite Index fell 0-point-0-2 percent.
In the U.S., President Donald Trump said he has authorized the release of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, its emergency fuel reserve to stabilize global supplies.
Right after the attacks on Saturday, the U.S. blamed Iran for the drone strikes, but Iran denied any involvement, calling the accusation "blind and futile."
Trump warned of military action in a tweet uploaded Sunday night,... saying the U.S. is "locked and loaded" and is waiting for verification from Saudi Arabia.
Hong Yoo, Arirang News.
