Brent crude rises above $100 a barrel as West Asia conflict escalates

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 conflict. File | Photo Credit: Reuters Benchmark Brent crude oil futures rose past $100 a barrel on Wednesday (September 9, 2026), ​breaching the symbolic barrier for the first time ‌since July 24 as intensifying conflict in West Asia fuelled growing concern about ⁠oil flows from the region.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 conflict.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 February ⁠28 start of the Iran war.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 August 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%. Published - September 09, 2026 01:26 pm IST