Brent surged past $100 as massive US–Iran maritime strikes collapse Hormuz transit
Global crude oil futures surged over 3% on Wednesday, propelling Brent crude past the $100-per-barrel threshold to its highest settlement in more than three months following the largest exchange of naval and commercial tanker strikes between the United States and Iran since the conflict began.
Global crude oil futures surged over 3% on Wednesday, propelling Brent crude past the $100-per-barrel threshold to its highest settlement in more than three months following the largest exchange of naval and commercial tanker strikes between the United States and Iran since the conflict began.
International benchmark Brent crude rose $3.29, or 3.4%, to settle at $101.21 a barrel, after touching an intraday peak of $101.58. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) climbed $3.02, or 3.25%, to finish at $96.05 a barrel.
The settlements marked the highest close for both contracts since 22 May, bringing futures benchmarks into alignment with physical crude markets that have traded above triple digits since early September.
Upstream risk premiums escalated dramatically after Tehran claimed attacks on 10 vessels near the Strait of Hormuz, prompting US naval forces to sink five Iranian oil tankers. Maritime logistics through the chokepoint deteriorated sharply, with daily commodity transits falling to six vessels on Tuesday. Overall crude volumes flowing through the strait plummeted below 2 million barrels per day, down from roughly 8 to 9 million bpd prior to the late-August escalation.
Supply disruptions rapidly spilled into alternative logistical corridors. A drone strike disabled an export tanker carrying 2 million barrels of Iraqi fuel oil in territorial waters, while hostile fire damaged commercial shipping off the UAE coast, imperilling vital ship-to-ship transfer operations in the Gulf of Oman. Concurrently, persistent Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabian infrastructure heightened vulnerability across Red Sea bypass routes.
Bullish momentum was further reinforced by the US Energy Information Administration raising its crude price forecasts through 2027 in response to accelerating global inventory drawdowns. With retail US gasoline averaging $4.22 a gallon and diesel nearing $6 a gallon amid acute global refining constraints, soaring upstream benchmarks continue to exert severe cost-push inflation across downstream petrochemical feedstock chains.
Written by: Aiman Haikal