Oil prices surge to highest since 2023 | 6 March 2026 | Oil prices hit a two-and-a-half year high on Friday as the escalating US-Israeli war against Iran disrupts energy supplies from the Middle East to global markets. Global benchmark Brent crude futures were up over 8% to over $92 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose over 11% to over $90, both highest since September 2023. Commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway between Iran and Oman that carries about one-fifth of the world’s oil exports, has come to a near-complete halt, according to Bloomberg.