Brent oil price tops 100 USD amid Mideast conflicts

Photo taken on Aug. 24, 2026 shows an oil refinery at New York and New Jersey Port in New York, the United States. Brent crude prices surpassed 100 U.S. dollars per barrel earlier Wednesday, fueled by conflicts in the Middle East. Brent crude futures for November delivery reached 100.95 dollars per barrel at one point, breaching the symbolic price level for the first time since July 24. (Xinhua/Zhang Fengguo)

NEW YORK, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Brent crude prices surpassed 100 U.S. dollars per barrel earlier Wednesday, fueled by conflicts in the Middle East.

Brent crude futures for November delivery reached 100.95 dollars per barrel at one point, breaching the symbolic price level for the first time since July 24.

Meanwhile, the West Texas Intermediate for October delivery rose to as high as 95.96 dollars per barrel.

The U.S. Central Command said in a post on Wednesday on social media platform X that its forces had "destroyed five Iranian crude oil carriers" on Tuesday night after Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps targeted "a U.S. Navy warship with ballistic missiles twice over the past two days."

The Revolution Guard said on Wednesday that it attacked two U.S. vessels and eight oil tankers in the Persian Gulf in retaliation for the U.S. attack on five Iranian tankers, according to Iranian state media reports.

The escalation in the U.S.-Iran conflict is raising the risk of oil prices surging above 120 dollars per barrel as attacks on shipping intensify, CNBC reported, quoting Daan Struyven, co-head of global commodities research at Goldman Sachs.

As long as there are attacks on oil infrastructure and tankers, as well as just hostilities in general, oil prices will continue to see a lot of upward pressure as supply constraints enter the psyche yet again, said Christopher Lewis, analyst with FX Empire, in a note.