Oil rallied hard midweek as traders weighed the risk of disrupted flows through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical artery for global supply. Brent finished at $101.21 per barrel, up 3.4%, its strongest close since May 22. U.S. West Texas Intermediate added 3.3% to end at $96.05.
Into the evening, ICE Brent Crude for Nov '26 was quoted at 101.29, up 3.37 or 3.44% at 8:20 PM BST. The price jump followed U.S. strikes that took out five Iranian crude oil tankers on Tuesday.
U.S. Central Command said the tanker hits came in response to attempted attacks on a U.S. warship, which it said successfully avoided the strike with no American casualties. That kind of escalation revives fears of bottlenecks in and around Hormuz. After roughly a month of relative quiet following a burst of violence in July, the conflict has flared again. Washington had shifted toward economic pressure on Tehran, while Iran has continued to target commercial shipping in the area.
Speaking on CNBC's Squawk Box Asia, Goldman Sachs's Daan Struyven, who co-leads global commodities research, said the latest tensions increase the chance that crude pushes above $120 if attacks on shipping escalate. Goldman's base case still assumes Persian Gulf exports gradually normalize as producers reroute cargoes and, over time, add pipeline capacity. He added that this uptick in hostilities makes a more bullish scenario likelier - one where exports do not bounce back over the coming months because tankers continue to be targeted.
The squeeze is already visible at the pump. U.S. gasoline reached a Labor Day record of $4.15 a gallon on Monday. Diesel may reach $6 in the days ahead, which would be the first time ever, according to a Wednesday social post from Patrick De Haan, who heads petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.
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This conflict is now in its seventh month, and each fresh headline has a way of flowing right into energy bills. If tensions keep pinching Hormuz shipments, crude and fuel prices can stay elevated longer than most budgets would like. Keep an eye on pump prices and home energy costs - they tend to be the first places this story shows up in everyday spending.
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