U.S. oil prices crossed $105 per barrel as Saudi Arabia reportedly canceled some crude cargoes following a pipeline closure, while Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen carried out renewed strikes against Saudi Arabia the same week. A crude cargo is a scheduled delivery of unrefined petroleum. When those deliveries are pulled, the volume heading to market drops.
The pipeline closure is the reported trigger. A pipeline is a fixed conduit that carries oil from production fields to ports and refineries. When one closes, the supply it was moving stops reaching its destination. Saudi Arabia reportedly canceling some cargoes on top of that outage meant less oil was heading to market from the pipeline and the canceled shipments together.
The Houthi strikes are the separate pressure. The Houthis are an armed group backed by Iran and operating from Yemen. The group has been running strikes against Saudi Arabia, and the renewed attacks this week placed military pressure on Saudi Arabia's export operations at the same moment the pipeline outage was already limiting what the country could ship.
The word "reportedly" matters. The cargo cancellations are attributed to Saudi Arabia but have not been independently confirmed, leaving the full scale of the pullback unclear. What is on the record is the $105 price and the news of renewed Houthi strikes on Saudi Arabia this week.