EL7.AI
CommoditiesMedium•24 October 2026•
4 min read

Brent jumps $3.55 to $116.72, highest since 2022

Key Facts

1Brent rose $3.55, or 3.14%, to $116.72 a barrel, its highest level since April 29.
2West Texas Intermediate crude rose $3.80, or 3.8%, to $103.27 a barrel.
3Brent ended the week up 6%, and WTI up 2.3%.
4The S&P 500 fell 0.5% and the Dow Jones fell 1.2%; the S&P 500 posted its second consecutive weekly loss.

Brent crude futures jumped $3.55, or 3.14%, to $116.72 a barrel at Friday, October 23 settlement, their highest since April 29, according to Reuters. The rise came as concerns grew over disruption to energy supplies in the Middle East after Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose $3.80, or 3.8%, to $103.27 a barrel. For the week, Brent gained 6%, while U.S. crude rose 2.3%. EL7’s internal market data confirms both benchmarks closed at those levels, after Brent settled the previous session at $113.17 and WTI at $99.47.

The price rise extended gains that began as concerns mounted over further disruption to energy flows. In a Friday morning report, Reuters said Brent was at $113.96 a barrel by 0810 GMT, up 79 cents, or 0.7%, while WTI rose to $100.57, up $1.10, or 1.1%. The report linked the moves to Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia and the supply concerns they raised for the Middle East. Adam Turnquist, chief multi-asset strategist at LPL Financial, said, "Supply disruption concerns drove the rally" after a series of attacks that included energy infrastructure. Gains then widened during the session, taking the contracts to settlement well above their morning levels.

In Saudi Arabia, the Energy Ministry said an attack targeted an administrative building at an Aramco complex in Dhahran, in the Eastern Province, causing a limited fire. The ministry said there were no injuries or deaths. The incident puts a major oil facility at the center of the security concerns accompanying the price rise, while available information about the attack site was limited to Dhahran. UAE authorities also reported detecting an oil spill off Umm Al Quwain. Authorities did not identify the cause of the spill or the vessel involved, Reuters reported. These developments kept attention focused on the safety of infrastructure and regional supply routes.

Oil’s rise coincided with a fall in U.S. stocks at Friday’s close, with the S&P 500 down 0.5% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 1.2%, according to the Associated Press. The former posted its second consecutive weekly loss, adding to the previous day’s losses. The news agency said higher oil prices weighed on the market and nearly three-quarters of stocks listed in the S&P 500 fell during the session. The energy shock thus extended across a broad range of U.S. stocks on a day when both crude benchmarks rose. The available facts did not provide a separate measure of oil’s effect on inflation expectations or interest rates.

International Energy Agency data offers a more complex picture of the market backdrop: in a report released on October 14, it forecast global oil demand would fall by an average of 2.6 million barrels per day in 2026, and by 2.5 million barrels per day year over year in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, observed global inventories fell by 10 million barrels in September, leaving them 509 million barrels below their level at the end of February. Crude exports from Gulf producers, led by Saudi Arabia, also rose by 4.4 million barrels per day to 13.9 million in September, exceeding 75% of prewar levels. Flows through the Strait of Hormuz increased by 3.7 million barrels per day to 10.9 million, while exports through pipelines that bypass the strait rose by 970,000 barrels per day to 5.6 million. This reflects a recovery in Gulf flows alongside falling inventories, while disruption risks remain part of oil pricing.

In Saudi Arabia, Aramco CEO Amin Nasser said the East-West pipeline’s capacity had risen from 2 million barrels to 7 million barrels per day, strengthening the route that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz. In the United States, the Energy Department said it had authorized an emergency exchange of up to 400,000 barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to address a supply disruption affecting a refinery in Louisiana. The two steps come amid efforts to provide alternative routes or emergency volumes as supply concerns persist. Friday’s settlement figures had lifted Brent to its highest level since April 29, according to Reuters. The International Energy Agency had forecast a contraction in demand over the year and fourth quarter, alongside falling inventories and improved exports and flows in September.