Brent crude reached $99.38 per barrel by 8 a.m. Eastern on Sept. 3, up $3.27 from the previous morning and roughly $31.50 from a year earlier, as renewed U.S. airstrikes on Iran intensified concerns about supply disruptions. Commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained severely constrained: Kpler recorded five confirmed crossings on Aug. 31, separate tracking showed four commercial vessels on Tuesday, and another recent reading counted as few as six vessels against a 10-day average of about 13. Brent later settled below its intraday peak in the $95-$97 range, while the Strait disruption pushed Iranian loadings lower, prompted Iraq, Kuwait and the UAE to reduce output because of logistical strain, and lifted U.S. gasoline prices to $4.1436 a gallon. Conflicting U.S. statements, military escorts, reported blockade measures and possible diplomatic de-escalation left markets focused on tanker traffic, negotiations and OPEC+ decisions.