Investing.com -- Saudi Arabia's crude oil production dropped to its lowest level since 1990 in August, according to data the kingdom reported to OPEC and cited by Bloomberg Thursday. The decline comes as renewed hostilities between the United States and Iran disrupted export routes from the region.
Riyadh informed OPEC's secretariat that its output fell by 1.9 million barrels per day to 6.238 million barrels per day. The figure marks an even sharper decline than the previous low reached in April, which was the lowest production level reported by Saudi Arabia since the start of the Gulf War.
The drop follows several months of recovery for the OPEC leader and reflects the impact of the prolonged Iran conflict on Middle East energy producers. Brent crude futures climbed above $100 per barrel this week as oil tankers faced renewed attacks in the Persian Gulf.
Tanker-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg showed Saudi crude exports fell by approximately one-third in August to around 3 million barrels per day, supporting the kingdom's reported production figures.
Saudi Arabia told OPEC that its crude supply to market, which includes oil drawn from storage tanks, reached 7.122 million barrels per day in August. The higher supply figure compared to production suggests the kingdom may have used some of its inventories.