US crude inventories drew just 3 million barrels last week against an 8 million forecast, a bearish miss. Oil rose anyway. WTI climbed to about $90 and Brent to about $93, bouncing off Tuesday's seven-week low, because Hormuz is still running at roughly 5% of normal and the Lebanon-anchored truce is fragile.
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Strait of Hormuz ship traffic is "rising very meaningfully." Iran and Israel halted attacks, Trump said a deal is two to three days away, and China imports hit eight-year lows. Brent fell to about $91 and WTI to $88, the lowest since April. The shortage-to-surplus flip has started.
OPEC+ approved a fourth straight production increase Sunday, adding 188,000 barrels a day for July, even though the Hormuz closure keeps Saudi Arabia pumping 3 million barrels a day below quota. The deal remains unsigned. Brent traded in the mid-$90s. Analysts warn the paper barrels become a glut the moment the strait reopens.
A drone hit Oman's Mina al-Fahal terminal Friday, the export hub that was the market's workaround to the closed Strait of Hormuz. Brent firmed to around $94-95 after a midweek pullback. OPEC+ meets Sunday and is expected to raise quotas again, even as the closure keeps Saudi output 3 million barrels a day below its existing quota.
Iran fired roughly 30 missiles and drones at Gulf states at dawn Wednesday, killing one and injuring more than 60 at Kuwait's main airport, after the US struck Qeshm Island. Brent climbed back toward $100 and WTI above $95, reinforced by an 8-million-barrel US crude draw. The desensitized market finally repriced.
Iran suspended the indirect nuclear talks over Israel's escalation in Lebanon. Trump said "I don't care" if they are over, then claimed on Truth Social they continue "at a rapid pace." Oil fell, with Brent at $93.80 and WTI at $91, as a Lebanon ceasefire and Trump's de-escalation signals outweighed the broken talks.
The tentative ceasefire deal went unsigned over the weekend. Iran downed a US drone, the US bombed Iranian sites at Geruk and Qeshm Island, and a US base in Kuwait came under fire. Brent rebounded 3.3% to $94.15, WTI to $90.63, reversing part of last week's 20% collapse.
Negotiators reached a tentative 60-day ceasefire deal Thursday, but it sits unsigned on Trump's desk and Iran has not confirmed it. Brent fell to $92.50, WTI to $87.40 — the steepest weekly drop since April. Iran fired warning shots at four vessels in Hormuz the same day.
CENTCOM hit IRGC mine-laying boats and a SAM site near Bandar Abbas on Monday night — the first US kinetic action inside Iran during the ceasefire. Four Revolutionary Guard killed. Brent briefly touched $100, then settled near $99.18. WTI at $93.12. The market is reading limited escalation as net-bearish.
Vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz jumped from three tankers Thursday to 33 in 24 hours under Iran's new permit regime. Pakistan's army chief returned from Tehran calling progress "highly productive." WTI fell to $96.60. Brent dropped to $103.54. Trump told negotiators not to rush.
Satellite data shows three supertankers transited the Strait of Hormuz Thursday — the first partial restoration of flow since February. They moved under Iran's newly formalized Persian Gulf Strait Authority permits. WTI settled below $100 for the first time in a week. Brent rebounded to $105.80.
The Gulf allies' window for an Iran deal closed without breakthrough. Iran's president called dialogue "not surrender." Trump now says he may have to "give them another big hit." The UAE confirmed the drones that struck Barakah came from Iraqi territory. Brent settled at $111.28.
Trump says he cancelled a planned large-scale attack on Iran after Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE asked him to wait 2-3 days. They believe a deal is close. Brent dropped from $111 to $110. The military option stays live.
An Iranian drone struck the outer perimeter of the UAE's Barakah nuclear power plant Saturday. No radiation release. Brent hit $111 before pulling back. Trump warned Iran "there won't be anything left." A Situation Room meeting on military options is set for May 19.
The US-China summit ended with a nine-point joint document that for the first time puts Hormuz language in writing from Beijing. Iran's response was to board a vessel near Fujairah and sink an Indian-flagged cargo ship. Brent rose 2% to $108.
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.
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.
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.
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.