Oil hits $100 a barrel for the first time in months after renewed clashes between the United States and Iran heightened anxiety over global energy supplies.
The move followed the U.S. military’s announcement that it destroyed five Iranian tankers, which U.S. Central Command described as part of a “multibillion-dollar shadow network” that finances Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and allied groups.
Tehran answered with attacks on U.S. ships and a base in Jordan, marking the latest escalation in a conflict that has dragged on for months without resolution.
Oil hits $100 a barrel amid conflict with Iran
The international benchmark, Brent crude, briefly rose above $100 a little after 3 a.m. ET, then eased slightly below that level. Despite trading about 40 percent above pre-war levels, Brent remained under the early-war peak of $120 a barrel. U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate hovered near $95.
Prices have become a political issue in Washington, with the White House and Republicans watching closely as consumers face higher costs. The national average for gasoline climbed to $4.22 on Wednesday, the highest since early June.
Middle East exports have declined since the United States and Israel began their war against Iran in February. About one-fifth of global oil supply typically transits the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint that Tehran has constricted in response. While U.S. forces have restored some traffic through the strait, other lanes have also seen turbulence.
Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have targeted tankers in the Red Sea and this week struck Saudi energy facilities, igniting oil sites and signaling a potential broadening of their fight with a key U.S. partner.
President Donald Trump wrote on social media Monday that “oil prices will drop precipitously, like everything else is dropping (but more!), when we WIN the war with Iran,” adding that prices could fall to “two dollars a gallon.”
There was little evidence of that on Wednesday or of an imminent end to the conflict. Trump has pivoted to intensifying pressure on Iran’s economy through a U.S. maritime blockade, yet the past several days have brought fresh bouts of violence.
The rising tensions and attacks on military targets in the region echo other recent flashpoints, such as a Colombia drone attack that killed several soldiers and underscored growing concerns about asymmetric warfare.