Brent crude climbed to $106.83 a barrel on Thursday, its highest level since May 19, after U.S. Central Command said it destroyed five Iranian oil tankers following missile strikes on a U.S. Navy warship. The rally ran alongside a jump in Treasury yields and firmer odds of a Federal Reserve rate increase, with a delayed U.S. inventory report still due out.
Brent Hits a Five-Month High
Brent crude traded at $106.83 a barrel on Thursday afternoon. It was up 5.6% on the day and at its highest level since May 19. The contract has risen 11.7% since Sept. 2, when it settled at $95.63.
U.S. Central Command said on Sept. 8 that its forces destroyed five Iranian crude oil carriers after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targeted a U.S. Navy warship with ballistic missiles twice over the past two days. The release names the M/T Kaviz, M/T Charminar, M/T Horizon 1, M/T Riesco and M/T Derya, placing four of the strikes in the Gulf of Oman and one near Kharg Island, and saying crews were directed to abandon ship before the vessels were hit. A Sept. 5 release describes three earlier tanker strikes.
Hormuz Warning Is a Renewal, Not a New Alert
The U.S. Maritime Administration published advisory 2026-011 on Sept. 9, saying Iran continues to threaten and carry out strikes on commercial vessels transiting the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman. The advisory replaced 2026-004, which expired the same day, making it a scheduled six-month renewal rather than a response to this week's strikes.
Separately, the Energy Information Administration's Weekly Petroleum Status Report for the week ending Sept. 4 was due to publish at noon ET Thursday, delayed from Wednesday by the Sept. 7 federal holiday. The most recent report, covering the week ending Aug. 28, recorded commercial crude inventories down 4.5 million barrels to 424.5 million, a figure that predates both sets of strikes.
Yields and Fed Odds Climb With Oil
The oil shock drove long-dated Treasury yields to multi-year highs and lifted the odds of a Federal Reserve rate increase next week to 64%. The 10-year Treasury yield reached 4.92%, its highest since Oct. 25, 2023. The 30-year reached 5.34%, above every daily close of the past five years.
Equities and gold moved the other way. The S&P 500 traded at 7,606 on Thursday afternoon, down 0.4% from Wednesday's close. Gold fell 1.3% to $4,405 an ounce. Brent's climb now sits alongside the same inflation print and yield surge pushing rate-hike bets higher this week.
Source: The Defiant
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