Brent crude rises 1% to nearly $97 as Strait of Hormuz tensions persist

  • Brent crude rose as U.S.-Iran attacks disrupted shipping around the Strait of Hormuz.
  • Brent reached nearly $97 a barrel, while U.S. gasoline averaged nearly $4.15 per gallon.
  • OPEC Plus kept October production unchanged, its first pause in increases since April.

Brent crude rose about 1% to nearly $97 a barrel as trading resumed Sunday after attacks involving the United States and Iran heightened risks around the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial oil-export route. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, also gained about 1% to slightly above $92. OPEC Plus, the group of major oil producers that coordinates supply, decided to keep October production flat, ending increases that had continued since April. U.S. gasoline prices reached nearly $4.15 a gallon, the highest average AAA had recorded for the period, although the inflation-adjusted Labor Day weekend record from 2012 remains higher. The disruption has pushed Brent up more than 33% and WTI slightly over 37% since the Iran war began at the end of February, while regular gasoline has risen nearly 40% from its prewar average of $2.98. Higher fuel costs also lifted fares on flights to 10 popular domestic destinations by nearly 20% from last year. U.S. military escorts have helped move millions of barrels daily from the Persian Gulf, but attacks have made shipping dangerous, including a strike near Oman that killed two crew members on a Saudi vessel. Russia-Ukraine war-related strikes on Russian refineries have added pressure by reducing global refining capacity.

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