Oil stays above $100 a barrel

The price of Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, has stayed above 100 dollars a barrel through October 2026. On Friday, October 16, it briefly reached 110 dollars for the first time since May.

According to MercoPress, Brent closed that Friday 3.7% higher at 109.86 dollars, its highest close since May 19. It gained 4.9% over the week. The US benchmark, West Texas Intermediate (WTI), rose 3.5% on the day to 101.41 dollars and jumped 10.4% over the week.

Reports point to two main causes. The first is the conflict in the Middle East. Attacks around the Strait of Hormuz have increased, and Saudi-led forces stopped a missile aimed at the Red Sea port of Yanbu, MercoPress said. The second is doubt about Russian fuel supply, after Ukraine ended a truce on energy sites and a drone strike hit a Russian refinery. In response, the International Energy Agency agreed to release more than 20 million barrels of fuel.

High energy costs also worry the International Monetary Fund. In its October 13 outlook, the IMF said prices of refined oil products were still 70% to 95% above their pre-war level. According to Trading Economics, the fund sees high energy prices linked to the US-Iran war as the main risk to world growth, especially for poorer countries that import energy.

Prices have moved a lot from day to day. Brent fell back below 105 dollars during trading on October 19. The analysis firm Kpler expects Gulf oil flows to recover only slowly unless there is a political deal.