Brent crude peaked at $126 a barrel<\/a> in April during the conflict but had eased to as low as $71 at the start of July. The price has shot up again as the war has reignited in recent days, reaching $95.24 on Wednesday before easing to $94.40 by lunchtime, up more than 3% on the previous day.<\/p>\n The price increase followed an 11th night of strikes on Iran<\/a>, including on aircraft hangars and drone storage sites, despite diplomatic efforts to salvage an interim ceasefire deal. Donald Trump said strikes would intensify in a war that has so far cost the US $37.5bn (\u00a328bn)<\/a>.<\/p>\n The jump in crude prices this month has marked the fastest increase since the US-Israeli attacks on Tehran first disrupted flows of Gulf exports via Hormuz in March.<\/p>\n It also threatens to put the market on track for oil prices of $120 a barrel by the end of the year unless exports via Hormuz restart, according to analysts at Goldman Sachs.<\/p>\n The head of the world\u2019s energy watchdog, Fatih Birol, said on Tuesday that global oil markets had so far benefited from \u201ccushioning factors\u201d but there was no room for complacency amid the escalation in hostilities.<\/p>\n US forces board a vessel as part of its action to monitor the strait of Hormuz to block Iranian ports. Photograph: US Central Command\/X<\/p>\n The factors included the release of about 400m barrels of emergency oil and oil products held by IEA members and the efforts of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to continue exporting crude via alternative routes.<\/p>\n In addition, oil-producing countries in Europe<\/a> and the Americas<\/a> have increased their exports, while oil-hungry countries including China, the world\u2019s biggest importer, have cut their purchases from the global oil market.<\/p>\n These factors have helped to keep oil prices from reaching the highs first feared at the start of the conflict<\/a>, which led to what the IEA has described as the greatest ever supply disruption to the market.<\/p>\n The slowdown in oil buying has meant many of the world\u2019s refineries have cut their production, leading to supply concerns for fuels and chemicals. Even as Gulf crude exports increased during the ill-fated US-Iran ceasefire, the production of road fuels has remained weak, according to Birol.<\/p>\n \u201cRefinery activity and product supplies have not picked up as much as crude deliveries, meaning that markets for refined oil products, including diesel and gasoline, are considerably tighter than those for crude,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n While an increase in gas exports from the US and Canada helped to offset about 70% of the lost Gulf gas supply via the strait of Hormuz, availability is expected to remain tight in the run-up to winter as European buyers attempt to refill depleted gas storage facilities, Birol said.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a>Free newsletter | Every weekday<\/p>\n Sign up to Business Today<\/p>\n Get set for the working day \u2013 we’ll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1782314834_381_500.jpg\")
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