Why is Brent crude above $100 a barrel today?
Persian Gulf tanker and facility strikes push oil to multi-month highs while U.S. equities split between energy strength and pressure on transports and homebuilders.
Brent crude moved above $100 a barrel on Wednesday for the first time since July as fighting intensified around Persian Gulf shipping lanes and energy infrastructure. By late morning Eastern time, Brent futures had climbed as high as $101.25, up roughly 3.4 percent, according to market reports. Live prices around 11:43 a.m. Mountain Time showed Brent at $100.82, up 5.55 percent from the prior close, while West Texas Intermediate traded at $95.78, up 4.91 percent.
The move followed reported strikes. U.S. Central Command said American forces destroyed five Iranian crude tankers on Tuesday after attempted attacks on a U.S. warship; no U.S. personnel were harmed. Iran's Revolutionary Guards claimed responsibility for attacks on multiple tankers and warships as well as a U.S. base in Jordan. Houthi attacks on Saudi oil facilities were also cited. Separately, Iraqi authorities extinguished a fire on the Panama-flagged tanker New Andros carrying about two million barrels of fuel oil after a drone strike. The IRGC indicated plans for a wider prohibited zone beyond the Strait of Hormuz into the Arabian Sea. The Strait handles roughly 20 percent of global oil and LNG shipments. Brent had traded near $70 before the broader U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran that began at the end of February.
Analysts described the supply picture as still fluid. Goldman Sachs commodities researcher Daan Struyven said the firm's base case remains continued Persian Gulf exports, though Brent at $120 becomes plausible if tanker and infrastructure attacks intensify and exports stagnate.
The oil jump is already visible in retail fuel. In the UK, the RAC reported average unleaded petrol rose 5 pence a litre over the prior week to 167.17p, the largest weekly increase since April, with diesel near 189p. The group linked the rise to oil averaging about $96 in the preceding week and wholesale costs passing through to forecourts, with little immediate relief for drivers.
U.S. market reaction midday was split. The S&P 500 ETF (SPY) was modestly higher at $762.70, up 0.12 percent; the Nasdaq-100 tracker (QQQ) gained 1.19 percent to $716.06; the Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA) slipped 0.56 percent to $524.81. Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) rose 0.99 percent and the crude oil ETF (USO) advanced 5.45 percent. Transports (IYT) fell 1.45 percent and homebuilders (XHB) dropped 1.22 percent. The 10-year Treasury yield climbed to 4.835 percent, up 0.81 percent. The VIX rose 13.48 percent to 16.25. Small-caps (IWM) were little changed, up 0.11 percent.
Higher crude feeds into gasoline, diesel, freight, groceries, and airfares. Sustained yields near 4.8 percent can also weigh on mortgage-rate-sensitive sectors. Equity performance so far shows energy and tech-heavy indexes holding up better than industrials and housing-related names, consistent with an oil shock that has not yet produced broad equity panic.