Global benchmark Brent broke $90 per barrel Friday after President Donald Trump demanded unconditional surrender from Iran, raising fears of a prolonged war that will cause a cascading disruption to global oil supplies.
Brent crude futures added 6.81% to trade at $91.23 a barrel by 10:53 a.m. ET. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were last seen 9.95% higher at $89.07. U.S. crude has gained more than 30% this week, while Brent has advanced nearly 26%.
“There will be no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!,” Trump said in a social media post.
The U.S.-Iran conflict has spread across the Middle East, disrupting energy production and bringing traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping route, to a near standstill.
Qatar’s energy minister, Saad al-Kaabi, told The Financial Times Friday that crude prices could reach $150 per barrel in the coming weeks if oil tankers were unable to pass through the Strait. This could “bring down the economies of the world,” Kaabi said.
“Everybody that has not called for force majeure we expect will do so in the next few days that this continues,” Kaabi told the FT. “All exporters in the Gulf region will have to call force majeure. If they don’t, they are at some point going to pay the liability for that legally, and that’s their choice.”
The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline jumped nearly 27 cents in the last week through Thursday to $3.25, according to data from U.S. travel organization AAA.
The war between Iran and the U.S. entered its seventh day on Friday. In a press conference on Thursday, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the U.S. had “only just begun to fight.”
“Iran is hoping that we cannot sustain this, which is a really bad miscalculation,” he told reporters.
