Brent crude surges above $106 on Hormuz security concerns

Brent crude jumped to $106.60 a barrel, gaining 3.41%, on renewed concerns over the US-Iran conflict and security of oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz. Murban crude, a key benchmark for Abu Dhabi and the wider Gulf, rose to $117.60, up 4%. West Texas Intermediate was comparatively steady at $94.51, down 0.11%. The spread between Brent and WTI widened to about $12.09 a barrel, indicating international markets were assigning a higher risk premium to seaborne and Middle Eastern supplies than to US domestic crude. The Strait of Hormuz remains central to market anxiety, with Iran conditioning full reopening on US concessions. Although oil continues to move through the strait, tanker traffic remains far below normal, with shipping companies using cautious routes and ship-to-ship transfers while insurers price in attack and restriction risks. Saudi Arabia has been restoring exports after drone attacks disrupted its East-West pipeline, with Aramco working to restore throughput toward roughly 4 million barrels per day. Brent was up about 49% from a year earlier, while WTI had also climbed sharply from late-August levels.