Brent crude settled above $100 a barrel on Wednesday, September 9, as attacks by the United States and Iran on oil tankers intensified concern over Middle Eastern supplies and the global inflation outlook. Reuters reported that front-month Brent gained $3.29, or 3.4%, to $101.21 a barrel after reaching $101.58, while US West Texas Intermediate rose $3.02, or 3.25%, to $96.05. Both benchmarks recorded their highest closes since May 22, and Brent closed above $100 for the first time since a single session in late July.
The rise followed what Reuters described as the largest declared wave of reciprocal attacks on shipping since the six-month conflict began. The US military said it destroyed five Iranian oil tankers after Iran's Revolutionary Guards twice targeted a US Navy warship with ballistic missiles. Iran said it then fired on two US ships and eight tankers and launched missiles toward a base used by US forces in Jordan. The charterer Peninsula said one seafarer died and another was missing after the products tanker Hercules Star was hit while anchored off Dubai.
The Strait of Hormuz remains the central supply risk because roughly one-fifth of global oil and gas supply passed through the waterway before the war. Preliminary Kpler data cited by Reuters showed six commodity vessels crossed on Tuesday, down from nine a day earlier and below a 10-day average of about 12. Rystad Energy estimated that oil flows had fallen below 2 million barrels a day after reaching 8 million to 9 million in the week before fighting resumed on August 30. Attacks on Saudi facilities and Red Sea shipping have also put an important alternative route under pressure.
The futures rally is catching up with an already tight physical market. Reuters said dated Brent, a benchmark used to price about two-thirds of global oil supply, had remained above $100 since September 3. The US Energy Information Administration raised its 2026 Brent forecast to an average of $91 a barrel from $87, according to S&P Global, citing reduced Middle Eastern exports. S&P Global shipping data also showed Middle East Gulf sour-crude exports averaged 5.88 million barrels a day in the second quarter, 65% below the level a year earlier.
Consumers and businesses are already absorbing the higher cost. AP, citing AAA, reported that average US regular gasoline reached $4.22 a gallon on Wednesday, nearly 42% above the $2.98 level before the war, while diesel set a nominal record at $5.94, almost 58% higher. Diesel is central to trucking, farming and shipping, so increases can feed into grocery, parcel and manufactured-goods prices. Import-dependent economies in Asia and Africa face particular exposure to reduced Gulf supply and higher freight and insurance costs.
The shock also spread across financial markets. AP reported that the S&P 500 lost 0.5%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.8% and the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.6%, while energy shares gained as most other sectors retreated. The duration of the disruption is now the key uncertainty: a brief move above $100 would have less lasting impact, but prolonged restrictions in Hormuz could keep fuel costs elevated, strengthen inflation pressures and complicate interest-rate decisions. Traders will watch tanker traffic, further military action and any renewed diplomatic effort for evidence that supply conditions may ease.
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