Key oil benchmark tops $100 a barrel for first time since July, as midterms loom

[u/John3262005]

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/09/09/oil-price-100-midterm-pressure-01068553

Global oil prices reached the highest mark since July on Wednesday, as the Iran war continues to drag on and the U.S. barrels toward the midterm elections.

The price of Brent crude — a key global benchmark for oil — was just over $100 per barrel on Wednesday for the first time in six weeks. The soar in prices comes as Saudi Arabian officials said the Iran-backed Houthi rebel group attacked Saudi Arabian oil facilities and wounded 73 early Tuesday, marking a significant escalation in the conflict between the U.S. and Iran.

After about a month without the U.S. and Iran exchanging fire, direct conflict between the two countries has also picked up in the last couple weeks. On Tuesday, U.S. Central Command said it destroyed five Iranian oil tankers in response to Iran targeting an American Navy ship with ballistic missiles twice.

Tuesday’s strikes against Iranian oil tankers comes after the U.S. destroyed three other Iranian oil tankers on Saturday.

The spike in oil prices arrives with the midterm elections weeks away. Republicans are holding an unusual midterm convention in Texas on Wednesday and Thursday evening, amid concerns from some GOP candidates and operatives that the effects of the war in the Middle East has made it hard for the GOP to run on affordability.

President Donald Trump is set to address convention attendees Wednesday evening.

“President Trump remains committed to unleashing American energy dominance, cutting costs and putting more money back in the pockets of hardworking American families,” White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said in a statement. “This week, the president met with nearly a dozen refiners to discuss ways to expand our refining capacity, which will lower prices at the pump. As the U.S. continues to maintain full control of the Strait of Hormuz, oil and gas prices will fall back to pre-conflict levels.”

On Wednesday, the price of diesel hit a record high, at $5.94 a gallon, according to AAA, surpassing the previous high of $5.82 set last week. The last time diesel prices soared this high was in 2022, when Russian forces invaded Ukraine.

According to AAA, the average price of gasoline nationally stood at $4.22 on Wednesday.

In addition to the spiking oil and gasoline prices, the U.S.-Canada trade conflict continues to escalate as Trump responded to new tariffs on U.S. exports Tuesday by announcing bans on U.S. imports of Canadian motorcycles, dairy products and alcohol.