WTI Breaks $100 as Middle East Supply Crisis Deepens
October WTI crude futures rose above $100 on Friday, trading at $101.26 early in the session after gaining $10.04 (11.01%) for the week. The contract swung from a low of $90.87 to an intraday high of $104.46, its strongest level since May, as attacks on tankers and energy infrastructure broadened supply risks across the Middle East.
Why It Matters
The price jump reflects a widening supply disruption: attacks around the Strait of Hormuz and new threats to Red Sea routes are curtailing the flow of Middle East barrels and shrinking the number of safe options to move crude. That constriction can tighten global crude availability and lift benchmark prices.
Key Facts
- Report date: Sep 11, 2026
- October WTI price (early Friday): $101.26
- Weekly change: Up $10.04, or 11.01% for the week so far
- Intraday range: Traded as low as $90.87 and reached $104.46
- Strongest level since: May
October WTI futures climbed above $100 on Friday, trading at $101.26 early in the session after an $10.04 weekly gain that amounted to an 11.01% rise. The contract moved from a low of $90.87 to an intraday peak of $104.46, marking its strongest showing since May.
Market participants had been testing whether escorted cargoes and alternate shipping routes could keep enough Gulf crude flowing to pare the war-related premium. This week, however, the security picture deteriorated: attacks on tankers grew around the Strait of Hormuz, Saudi energy facilities were struck, and the disruption spread toward the Red Sea, narrowing safe options for transporting oil.
The week began with a fresh escalation between U.S. and Iranian forces. U.S. forces struck Iranian oil tankers following attacks on American warships, and Iran said it conducted attacks on ships near the Strait of Hormuz after additional U.S. strikes on Iranian tankers. Separately, Houthi forces attacked Saudi energy targets and seized the port of Mocha on Yemen’s Red Sea coast, bringing the Bab el-Mandeb shipping lane back into focus.
The rising risk has translated into significant physical curtailments: Middle East shut-ins reached 6.7 million barrels per day, according to the report. Traders said WTI crossed the $100 threshold not because every Middle East barrel vanished, but because the volume unable to reach markets is growing while the remaining routes to move supply are becoming more dangerous, keeping upward pressure on prices.
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