The price of oil surged again Thursday, with Brent crude briefly surpassing $108 per barrel for the first time since May and U.S. crude oil jumping above $102 per barrel, also its highest level since mid-May.
Brent ended the trading session at $107.63 after having soared 6.3% in a day. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude closed at $102.48 per barrel, up 6.7% for the day. WTI’s closing level was also the highest since May.
Since the start of the year, the prices of both Brent and WTI have risen by more than 75%.
“The move reflects a market still pricing in persistent geopolitical risk, with Persian Gulf tensions showing no credible path to de‑escalation,” analysts at ING said Thursday.
As a result of those rising prices, the national average gas price increased by 5 more cents overnight, to $4.27 a gallon. Diesel fuel, which powers everything from farms to trucking to trains, rose 4 cents overnight, to $5.98.
A primary driver of the move in oil prices Thursday was President Donald Trump’s comment in Dallas the day before that he was not looking for a deal with Iran.
Trump also said he did not expect oil prices to fall until “right after” the November midterm elections, despite having said for months that the war would be over quickly.
“Right after the election, oil prices are going to be tumbling downward,” he told reporters Wednesday afternoon. “They’re going to be tumbling down, and we’ll get them down.”
Commodities experts warned this week that oil prices as measured by Brent could rise to $120 or even as high as $150 per barrel if the stalemate with Iran drags on.
Trump’s suggestion that the war could continue for many more months also highlighted the looming crisis in global crude oil supplies.
Dozens of nations agreed this year to release 400 million barrels to keep a lid on prices in the early months of the war.
Nearly six months later, the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve is at its lowest level since the 1980s.
In addition, Saudi Arabia informed OPEC that its crude oil output plunged in August to the lowest level since 1990 as a result of the renewed hostilities with Iran, Bloomberg News reported.
NBC News was not immediately able to confirm that report.
Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury bonds continued to sell off, driving their yields higher. The 10-year Treasury yield, which heavily influences consumer borrowing rates, especially for mortgages, rose as high as 4.95%, its highest since 2023.
The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose to 7.07% Thursday, according to Mortgage News Daily. That is the highest rate since May 2025.
The 30-year Treasury yield spiked to 5.36%, its highest level since 2007.
The move in Treasury yields was driven mostly by the soaring price of energy, which has renewed fears of an inflation crisis.
Compounding the turmoil in bond markets were the Treasury Department’s recently announced interventions, which included a buyback of Treasury bonds. Intended to bring yields down by boosting demand, the moves appear to have had the opposite effect.
Source: NBC
--Agencies
