Oil ETF Rises as Middle East Supply Risks Push Brent to Six-Week High

China Merchants Oil ETF (159197) rose 0.88% by 1:15 p.m. on September 9 as the sector extended its rally and the benchmark index for the fund hit another record after a sharp rebound the previous day, according to Jiemian News. Among the ETF's largest holdings, PetroChina rose 0.44%, Sinopec gained 0.36%, and China Merchants Shipping hit the daily limit up. The move came after renewed attacks in the Strait of Hormuz area, including the largest mutual maritime strikes between the U.S. and Iran since the conflict began, Houthi attacks on energy facilities in southern Saudi Arabia that forced some operations to pause, and reports of explosions at Iran's Kharg Island oil export hub. ANZ said pre-war throughput in the Strait of Hormuz may not fully recover until the end of the first quarter or early second quarter of 2027, while OPEC+ kept October output quotas unchanged at its September 6 meeting. Goldman Sachs raised its oil price forecast and warned crude could reach $120 a barrel if shipping attacks intensify. Brent briefly climbed to $99.39 a barrel, a six-week high, while WTI rose nearly 10% for the week. Jiemian News also said the three major Chinese oil companies reported combined first-half net profit attributable to shareholders of about 215.4 billion yuan, with PetroChina's profit topping 100 billion yuan for the first time, CNOOC posting a record first-half result, and Sinopec's refining unit seeing operating profit jump 381.5%. Their interim dividends totaled 99.074 billion yuan. The ETF tracks the CSI Petroleum and Natural Gas Index, and its top 10 holdings include the three major oil companies with a combined weight of more than 36%; the index's price-to-earnings ratio is about 13 times.