Front-month Brent rises above $100/bbl, ICE data shows

Brent crude rose above $100 a barrel on Wednesday for the first time since July, driven by escalating US-Iran tensions and stronger Chinese oil demand. The US military said it had destroyed five Iranian tankers carrying crude following attempts to strike a US Navy warship with ballistic missiles. Iran, meanwhile, claimed to have attacked two American vessels and eight oil tankers in the Gulf, while warning shipping crews near Kuwaiti and Bahraini ports to abandon their vessels. The escalation has heightened concerns over further disruption to global oil supplies, particularly around the Strait of Hormuz. Iran-backed Houthi militants also targeted energy infrastructure in southern Saudi Arabia, including the 400,000-barrel-a-day Jazan refinery. At the same time, recovering Chinese oil demand is supporting prices for African, Canadian and Latin American crude as disruptions around Hormuz force refiners to seek alternative supplies from more distant markets.

The price of the benchmark Brent Crude has surged to $100 per barrel for some contracts. This is the first time since July 24, 2026, nearly 2 months ago, that Brent has hit this mark.This surge comes amid a resurgence in the escalation of hostilities between Iran and the US, and also between Iran…