Energy & Resources
Oil prices top $100 after US-Iran war flare-up
Brent North Sea crude topped $100 a barrel on Wednesday after a flare-up in the US-Iran war renewed concern about disruption to oil supplies.
West Texas Intermediate, the main US contract, was around $95 a barrel. Brent is the international benchmark for crude oil.
Oil prices have been volatile since the war began on February 28. The conflict has effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz, through which almost 20 percent of the world's oil is transported.
Brent rose above $100 shortly after the start of the war and reached $126.41 a barrel at the end of April. WTI reached $119.48 in early March.
Prices fell back in June as hopes for de-escalation grew, Chinese demand weakened and countries released strategic oil reserves. They later dropped below pre-war levels after Iran and the United States signed a memorandum of understanding on ending the conflict.
The latest rise followed renewed US-Iran strikes across the region. Iran said Wednesday it had struck a US military base in Jordan and would target oil tankers off Kuwait and Bahrain in retaliation for US strikes on its vessels.
The move adds to a century of large oil-price swings. Brent and WTI both approached $140 a barrel after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. In 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic, WTI briefly fell to minus $40.32 as storage shortages and a Saudi-Russia price war hit the market. Brent reached a record $147.50 a barrel on July 11, 2008, before falling to around $36 by December that year during the global financial crisis.
Update
Brent North Sea crude topped $100 a barrel on Wednesday.
West Texas Intermediate was around $95 a barrel.
Brent had reached $126.41 at the end of April during the US-Iran war, while WTI reached $119.48 in early March.
Prices fell in June on hopes of de-escalation, weaker Chinese demand and releases of strategic oil reserves, then fell below pre-war levels after a memorandum of understanding on ending the conflict.
The item adds historical comparisons with oil-price swings in 2008, 2011, 2012, 2020 and 2022.
Source note: AFP news report published on 9 September 2026 at 10:33:58 UTC.
Update
Brent crude rose to $99.38 a barrel in early Asia trade on Wednesday.
West Texas Intermediate was at $94.51 a barrel.
Iran said Wednesday it had struck a US military base in Jordan and would target oil tankers off Kuwait and Bahrain in retaliation for US strikes on its vessels.
Source note: AFP news report published on 9 September 2026 at 00:30:22 UTC.
Update
Wall Street closed lower, with the Dow down 1.2 percent, the S&P 500 down 0.6 percent and the Nasdaq Composite down 0.3 percent.
Brent crude was quoted at $97.92 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate at $93.03 around 2020 GMT.
Eurasia Group said oil would likely remain in an $85-$105 range because it saw little chance of a resolution to relevant conflicts.
The yen later traded at about 154 to the dollar after briefly reaching 152.89.
Additional closing figures were reported for major European and Asian stock indices.
Source note: AFP news report published on 8 September 2026 at 20:37:07 UTC.
Update
Wall Street's main indices were lower after the holiday weekend, with the Dow down 1.0 percent around 1530 GMT.
AFP reported fresh Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia halted operations at several energy facilities.
Canada's retaliatory tariffs on billions of dollars in US products took effect Tuesday.
Novartis shares fell more than 10 percent after trial results missed expectations, while Mistral said its valuation rose to 21 billion euros after a 3 billion euro fundraising.
Source note: AFP news report published on 8 September 2026 at 15:57:07 UTC.
Update
About 10 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.2 percent at 52,962.18.
The S&P 500 dipped 0.2 percent to 7,701.95 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.2 percent to 26,464.68.
FHN Financial’s Chris Low said he expected a fairly big inflation increase and a Federal Reserve rate rise.
GE Aerospace announced it would buy Consolidated Precision Productions for $11.75 billion from Warburg Pincus and Berkshire Partners.
Source note: AFP news report published on 8 September 2026 at 13:50:42 UTC.
Update
Wall Street's main stock indices opened mostly lower after a three-day holiday weekend.
Brent crude rose as high as $99.46 a barrel before retreating.
Around 1330 GMT, Brent was up 0.6% at $97.59 and West Texas Intermediate was up 1.4% at $92.74.
Around 1330 GMT, the Dow was down 0.8%, the S&P 500 was down less than 0.1% and the Nasdaq was up less than 0.1%.
Novartis shares slumped nearly 10% after trial results failed to meet expectations.
Source note: AFP news report published on 8 September 2026 at 13:45:29 UTC.
Update
Brent crude was up 1.7 percent at $98.64 a barrel around 1100 GMT, while West Texas Intermediate was up 2.7 percent at $93.90.
The yen later traded above 154 to the dollar after briefly reaching 152.89.
Canada's retaliatory tariffs on billions of dollars of US products took effect Tuesday.
Novartis shares fell more than nine percent after trial results for a neurological disease treatment failed to meet expectations.
Mistral said it raised three billion euros, valuing the French AI firm at 21 billion euros.
Source note: AFP news report published on 8 September 2026 at 11:18:41 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
The source gives no exact Brent price beyond saying it topped $100 on Wednesday.
Future disruption to oil supplies is described as a risk, not a confirmed outcome.
Details of the latest strikes and threatened tanker attacks are attributed to Iran where stated.
Source
AFP news report published on .