Gasoline prices are seen at an Exxon gas station in Huntsville, Texas, on Sept. 8, 2026. (Credit: Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP)
Benchmark Brent crude oil futures rose past $100 a barrel on Wednesday, breaching the symbolic barrier for the first time since July 24 as intensifying U.S. war with Iran fueled growing concern about oil flows from the Middle East.
Brent crude futures rose $2.15, or 2.2%, to $100.07 a barrel by 0721 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up $1.70, or 1.83%, at $94.73 a barrel.
Brent crude prices have risen by a quarter since early last month as hopes fade for a permanent resolution to the six-month-old U.S.-Iran war.
This week, attacks by Iran-backed Houthis on Saudi energy facilities set oil installations ablaze, threatening a significant expansion of the conflict.
The Houthi attacks could threaten crude shipments via the Red Sea, which has been a key alternative route to the crucial Strait of Hormuz, where crude flows have been severely curtailed since the U.S. and Israel triggered the war on Feb. 28.
A growing number of banks, including Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and HSBC, have raised their crude price forecasts in recent days.
In the week before a resumption in fighting on Aug. 30, roughly 8 million to 9 million bpd had flowed through Hormuz, double the previous week's volume, according to Rystad Energy's Chief Economist Claudio Galimberti, although more recently it had fallen below 2 million bpd.
While non-OPEC oil producers, including the United States, Canada and Guyana, have ramped up output, the International Energy Agency said last month it expected global oil supply would fall this year by 4.3 million bpd, or about 4%.
