$113.17 a barrel. That is where Brent crude finished on Thursday, 22 October 2026, after a gain of about 4% in a single session lifted the global benchmark to its highest level in five months on worries about supply in the region.
The rally carried into Friday, 23 October, when Brent pushed through $114, within reach of this year's peak of $114.44 set on 4 May. The main numbers behind the move:
- Thursday: Brent rose roughly 4% to $113.17, while US benchmark West Texas Intermediate gained about 2%.
- Friday: Brent added close to 1% to trade near $114.30, and WTI climbed about 1.6% to just above $101.
- One month: Brent is up more than 7% over the past four weeks, according to Trading Economics data.
- Momentum: Reuters noted that Brent had moved into overbought territory on the charts for the third time in a week.
- Exports: Morgan Stanley analysts put Middle East crude exports at about 17 million barrels a day last week, against a 12-month average of roughly 18 million before the disruption began, based on Kpler figures.
Higher energy costs feed straight into the US inflation outlook. The Federal Reserve meets on 27 and 28 October, and the CME FedWatch tool shows odds above 85% of a rate rise in December.
