Timely coverage of crude prices, OPEC decisions, and energy market developments.
The White House said Trump and Xi agreed the Strait of Hormuz must remain open to energy flows. Chinese state media omitted Hormuz from its summit summary entirely. Brent held at $105, unmoved.
Trump arrived in Beijing with Musk, Cook, and Huang and downplayed China's role in the Iran crisis. OPEC's monthly report showed April production fell 1.74 million bpd to its lowest level in decades as the Hormuz blockade compounds.
WTI topped $100 and Brent hit $107 as the US Navy turned back a non-Iranian tanker at the Hormuz blockade line for the first time. China ordered firms to ignore new US sanctions on Iranian oil buyers.
The Trump administration announced a 53.3 million barrel SPR loan with a first shipment heading to Turkey. Brent eased to $105 from yesterday's $107 spike as markets hold ahead of the May 14 Beijing summit.
Trump called Iran's formal response to the US framework "totally unacceptable." Iran said it would "never bow." Brent surged above $104 as fourth-round talks in Oman wrapped with no deal.
Iranian missiles, drones, and fast-attack boats targeted three US destroyers in the Strait of Hormuz Thursday. US forces struck back. No ships were damaged. Brent reversed three days of losses to trade above $101.
Brent crude dropped from $111 to $97 in five trading days. The national average gas price rose to $4.53 per gallon. Both numbers are accurate. Here is the timeline for when the oil crash reaches the pump.
Brent crude fell 9% to $99.64 Wednesday, its lowest since before the crisis, after Trump suspended Project Freedom and officials said the US and Iran are closing in on a one-page deal framework.
Pentagon officials disclosed Iran has attacked US forces more than 10 times since the April 8 ceasefire. No threshold for what constitutes a breach has been defined. Brent fell 2% on the word "ceasefire."
CENTCOM confirmed two US-flagged ships transited Hormuz Monday under destroyer escort. About 800 vessels remain stranded. Iran's demand has not changed.
The national gas average hit $4.45 per gallon this week, up $1.28 from a year ago. Diesel is at $5.64. Gasoline stocks have fallen for 11 straight weeks. Summer demand is still ahead.
The US military began escorting stranded commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz at dawn Monday. Two ships made it through. Iran fired warning shots and launched missiles and drones in response. Brent hit $115.
An Iranian drone hit the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone this morning, igniting a fire at the UAE's only Hormuz bypass terminal. Brent jumped to $115. Iran's IRGC released a map claiming control over the area.
Today is day 60 under the War Powers Resolution. Trump's lawyers say the ceasefire stopped the clock. Democrats say that reading guts the law.
Brent hit $126 on Tuesday after Trump confirmed the blockade stays until Iran agrees to nuclear terms. By Thursday it was back near $110. The $16 swing is the largest since the crisis began.
Trump posted an AI image of himself with a rifle on Truth Social, warning Iran to "get smart soon." His aides have been told to prepare for a prolonged blockade. Brent held near $111.
The UAE announced it will leave OPEC effective May 1, ending nearly six decades of membership. Iran's war, Russian backing for Tehran, and long-running quota frustration drove the exit.
Three ship-tracking services detected ADNOC's Mubaraz off India's west coast Tuesday, suggesting a Hormuz transit. No official confirmation. Analysts are cautious.
Iran proposed reopening Hormuz in exchange for lifting the US naval blockade, with nuclear talks deferred. Trump is unlikely to accept. Brent rose to $112.40.
After the Pakistan talks failed, Araghchi met Putin in St. Petersburg. Putin pledged support. Brent rose to $107.97. Trump said Iran can just call.
Araghchi left Islamabad before US envoys arrived. Trump cancelled Witkoff and Kushner's flight. The one active diplomatic track is gone, and the 3-to-5-day ultimatum expires today.
Trump ordered the US Navy to shoot Iranian mine-laying boats and tripled minesweeper operations. Brent hit $106.80. Even a diplomatic deal now has a physical delay baked in.
Iran seized two container ships and fired on a third. The US seized another tanker. Brent hit $103. And for the first time, a credible diplomatic framework for breaking the deadlock appeared publicly.
Trump extended the ceasefire hours before it expired but kept the naval blockade in place. Brent briefly hit $100 before pulling back. No talks are scheduled. Nothing is resolved.
The US Navy fired into the engine room of the Iranian container ship Touska and Marines boarded her. Iran called it piracy, walked out of talks, and vowed retaliation. Brent is near $99.
Three days after declaring the strait open, Iran fired on a tanker and shut Hormuz again. WTI bounced from $83 to $93. Talks resume in Islamabad tomorrow with 48 hours left on the ceasefire.
WTI hit $95 on a massive inventory draw, then crashed to $83 after Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz completely open. The ceasefire expires in five days.
Trump called the Iran war "very close to over." Oil fell to $92. But the ceasefire expires in five days and the US has not formally agreed to extend it.
US warships are blockading Iranian ports while diplomats return to Islamabad. The market cannot price both outcomes at once — and that tension shows in the price.
Attacks on Saudi oil facilities and the East-West pipeline cut 600,000 bpd of production capacity and struck the kingdom's main bypass around a closed Strait of Hormuz.
WTI has stabilized around $95 after the biggest one-day crash since 1991. Here is what the next two weeks will determine.
A last-minute US-Iran ceasefire sent WTI plunging 18% to $92 — the sharpest one-day oil crash since 1991, outside of COVID. But the Strait of Hormuz is not fully open yet.
Iran turned down a 45-day ceasefire framework hours before Trump's Tuesday 8 p.m. deadline, leaving oil markets paralyzed between a deal and escalation.
WTI crude briefly topped $114 and flipped above Brent in a historic inversion, while OPEC+ made a symbolic output hike and warned war damage will take years to repair.
WTI surged 13% after Trump's April 1 address offered no exit plan for the Iran war, with U.S. gasoline crossing $4/gallon and the OPEC+ meeting just three days away.
WTI closed above $100 for the first time since 2022 as Trump threatened to destroy an Iranian oil facility, with Brent on track for its biggest monthly gain on record.
WTI touched $100 and Brent hit $112 on Friday as Iran rejected direct U.S. negotiations, with Trump's April 6 deadline now the next flashpoint for energy markets.
U.S. pump prices are caught between a Hormuz-driven supply crunch and tariff-weakened demand forecasts. What drivers should expect this spring.
OPEC+ faces its most consequential meeting in years as falling demand forecasts, the Hormuz crisis, and trade war uncertainty all land at once.
Escalating U.S. tariffs are rippling through global energy markets in 2026, pressuring oil demand forecasts and adding new uncertainty for crude traders.
The Strait of Hormuz carries roughly 20% of the world's seaborne oil. When it closes, even partially, the consequences ripple through every fuel price on earth. Here's what's happening and what it means.
Every spring, refineries switch blends, demand picks up, and pump prices follow. Here's the seasonal pattern that plays out like clockwork, until it doesn't.
A look at the key factors driving WTI crude oil prices in 2026, including OPEC+ policy, U.S. shale production, and global demand trends.