Oil climbs toward 8% weekly rise as Middle East attacks threaten supply, US diesel hits record
Oil prices slipped on Friday but remain set for an over-8% weekly gain, while U.S. diesel prices hit a new record amid heightened Middle East shipping attacks.
On Friday, Brent crude dropped $3.45 to $104.18 a barrel and U.S. WTI fell $2.96 to $99.52, but both benchmarks are still poised for a weekly rise of more than 8% after Thursday’s sharp climb following a wave of shipping attacks in the Middle East. Foreign ministers are said to be working on a short-term deal with Iran to keep traffic flowing through the Strait of Hormuz, which modestly eased price pressure. Satellite imagery revealed smoke near Saudi Arabia’s East-West Pipeline, a vital route for bypassing Hormuz, while Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis reached Perim Island in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, further threatening a key chokepoint.
Iran claimed attacks on ten ships near Hormuz, and vessel transits fell from 11 to seven in a single day. In the United States, diesel prices topped $6 a gallon for the first time, driven by Gulf shipping disruptions and ongoing Russian refinery outages, prompting analysts to expect higher volatility for refined products. Commerzbank lifted its year-end Brent forecast to $85 and raised diesel and jet-fuel price expectations.
Why it matters
Rising oil and record-high diesel prices signal tightening global fuel supplies and could pressure economies worldwide.
How this story developed
- Jul 20 U.S. and Iran intensify air strikes over Strait of Hormuz, diplomacy stalls
- Sep 3 Iran's army claimed radar systems and locations where American forces were stationed at the UAE's Al Minhad Air Base were attacked with missiles and drones.
- Sep 4 Iran has begun testing methanol as an oxygenate in its gasoline blend.
- Sep 4 The United Arab Emirates announced a full stop to commercial and financial dealings with Iran.
- Sep 4 Iran announced missile and drone attacks on U.S. bases in Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.
- Sep 5 Republican committees have filed a petition with the Supreme Court challenging the Fourth Circuit ruling.
- Sep 5 U.S. forces hit launchers on Larak Island and Iran fired ballistic missiles at U.S. sites in Jordan and the United Arab Emirates.
- Sep 5 Vance publicly downplayed the reported civilian deaths from the alleged strike.
- Sep 5 Eyewitnesses said the explosions shattered the wedding celebration in Kuhestak.
- Sep 7 GasBuddy released a forecast predicting a $4.03 average gasoline price for the Labor Day weekend.
- Sep 7 Brent crude climbed to about $97 a barrel as US‑Iran clashes intensified, and analysts said gasoline prices may ease in October with the shift to winter‑grade fuel.
- Sep 9 The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it will soon publish coordinates for a new restricted sea zone stretching from Chabahar into the Gulf of Oman and Arabian Sea, affecting vessels that enter or later attempt the Strait of Hormuz.
- Sep 10 Iran announced the zone will begin around Chabahar and cover parts of the Gulf of Oman and Arabian Sea.
- Sep 11 Fed minutes revealed a 9‑3 vote to keep rates near 3.6% and a drop in market odds for a September hike to about 67%.
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