Oil prices have been pushed above USD 100 per barrel, helped by Houthi attacks.
78% confidence
EconomyInternational
Omissions
The USD 100 threshold was not breached for the first time in the run-up to the speech: Reuters and The Guardian both report that Brent broke USD 100 on 9 September 2026 'for the first time since July', meaning prices had already been above USD 100 earlier in 2026 (before the September Houthi strikes) and had dipped below it again.
Contemporaneous reporting attributes the September move primarily to a broader Middle East escalation, including direct US–Iran hostilities, with Houthi attacks on Saudi cities as one of several contributing factors — the claim's causal framing overstates the specific Houthi contribution.
The strongest Houthi-related price spike (Brent to about USD 113–117, a five-month high) occurred on 22–23 October 2026, i.e. AFTER the session date, and could therefore not have been known to the MEP on 20 October 2026.
Oil prices were also up roughly 80–90% year-on-year (from about USD 60.71 in October 2025), a much larger driver of the cost picture than the incremental effect of Houthi attacks.
Sources
SecondaryReuters"Benchmark Brent crude oil futures broke through $100 on Sept. 9 for the first time since July on escalating conflict in the Middle East."
SecondaryThe Guardian"Oil prices rise above $100 a barrel for first time since July ... Brent crude up by more than 3% after latest fire between US and Iran in Gulf and Houthi attacks on Saudi cities."
SecondaryCNBC"Global benchmark Brent crude futures for December delivery fell 0.7% to settle at $108.79 per barrel, well off a session high of $111.99." (20 October 2026 — the session date)
SecondaryReuters (via Euronext Live)"Oil prices climbed about 3% to a five-month high on Thursday after Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia stoked concerns of further disruption to [supply]" — 22 October 2026, i.e. after the session date.
TertiaryMacrotrends — Brent Crude Oil Prices (1987-2026)"Brent crude oil was $115.22 per barrel on October 20, 2026, up 89.8% from $60.71 a year earlier. The 2026 average so far is $95.34, compared with $69.14 for [2025]."