Oil prices rose for a third straight session on Tuesday, hovering at six-week highs as escalating military exchanges between the U.S. and Iran kept supply fears firmly in focus. The latest leg higher follows tit-for-tat strikes over the weekend that also pushed retail gas prices to record levels.
Brent crude futures for November delivery gained 0.20% to $97.20 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures for October advanced 1.07% to $92.56 per barrel, according to CNBC data.
The escalation began Saturday when the U.S. military struck three Iranian oil tankers after Tehran launched ballistic missiles at two U.S. Navy warships. Iran’s Foreign Ministry denounced the attacks on commercial vessels as a “war crime” and an act of “economic warfare” in a statement released the same day.
“This appears to be a major escalation and tensions have once again ratcheted higher,” said David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation, noting that U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright had said it may prove impossible to reach a deal with Iran to prevent it from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
The rhetoric has remained heated in the days since. Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warned Monday in a post on X, “Strike our assets and you get struck.” That came in response to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s post that said the U.S. “will destroy (and sink)” Iranian oil tankers if Iran fires on U.S. vessels.
Banks and traders raise forecasts
Goldman Sachs on Monday raised its Brent and WTI price forecasts by $5, lifting its December 2026 projections to $85 and $80 per barrel, respectively, and its 2027 forecasts to $80 and $75 per barrel. The bank expects Mideast shipping disruptions to persist into 2027, with production gradually recovering only in the second half of that year.
“Markets are increasingly pricing a prolonged Mideast conflict,” Goldman said, noting that Persian Gulf-to-China crude tanker rates for the second quarter of 2027 now imply disruptions lasting into that period.
President Trump, in a Monday post, sought to push back on the rally, writing that “Oil prices will drop precipitously … when we WIN the war with Iran.”
Analysts caution that the path for crude remains highly dependent on geopolitical headlines, with any further retaliation or diplomatic progress likely to drive sharp moves in either direction.
Source: www.cnbc.com — https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/08/oil-prices-today-brent-wti-hormuz-iran-war.html
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