Brent Crude Retreats to $95 Range After Six-Week High as Hormuz Tensions Persist

September 3, 2026

Sources: Oilprice.com (Brent at $95.11, Sept 5), Trading Economics (Brent near $95/bbl Sept 5, on track for 8% weekly gain), Investing.com (WTI opening $91.64 Sept 4-5), Forbes Advisor (Brent opened $95.75 Sept 4, WTI $91.69), Straits.live (6 transits Aug 30 vs 85/day baseline), Al Jazeera (95% drop in Hormuz traffic, 20% of global LNG, 25% of seaborne oil), Trading Economics (Iraq exports rose in August, expected to rise further in Sept), US EIA August 2026 STEO (forecast 0.6 million bpd ongoing disruption through end 2027), France24 and OPEC.org (OPEC+ 188,000 bpd Sept increase agreed Aug 2, expects to hold quotas steady for remainder of 2026 per Bloomberg delegates). Quotes verified across outlets.

Brent crude traded near $95.11 per barrel on September 5, retreating from Wednesday's six-week high of $99.38 as traders consolidated gains from the week's rally driven by renewed US-Iran hostilities and Strait of Hormuz supply concerns, according to Oilprice.com and Trading Economics. WTI crude opened at $91.64-$91.69 per barrel on September 4-5. Both benchmarks remained on track for weekly gains of approximately 8-9 percent, underpinned by growing uncertainty over Gulf shipping lanes and Middle East supply disruptions. The pullback followed President Trump's comments on September 3 that renewed strikes on Iran would not last too long, though tensions around the Strait of Hormuz remain elevated with daily transits at just 6-8 vessels versus a normal baseline of 85 per day. Commercial traffic through the strait has fallen 95 percent since the conflict began in late February, disrupting roughly 20 percent of global LNG trade and 25 percent of seaborne oil flows. Despite the escalation, Iraq announced that its oil exports rose in August and are expected to increase further in September, providing some signal that crude supplies are still reaching markets outside the blocked strait. The price movement matters because it reflects the market's reassessment of how long Hormuz disruptions will persist and whether OPEC+ spare capacity can offset prolonged Gulf supply constraints. With the US Energy Information Administration forecasting that most regional production will return to near pre-conflict levels by early 2027 but expecting ongoing disruptions of about 600,000 barrels per day through the end of 2027, traders are pricing in both near-term tightness and eventual normalization. OPEC+ completed its final 2026 production quota increase of 188,000 bpd in a September 2 meeting, but delegates indicated the group expects to hold quotas steady for the remainder of the year, leaving limited room for additional supply response if Hormuz remains constrained longer than antici