Oil surges past $101 to highest closing level since May as Middle East conflict intensifies | 9 Sep 2026 | The price of oil breached the $100 threshold Wednesday, as new flare-ups in the United States war with Iran stoked fresh concern for global energy markets.Prices did not stop there and continued rising throughout the day. The international benchmark, Brent crude, jumped 3.3% to end the trading session at $101.21 per barrel. U.S. crude oil ended the day higher by 3.2% at $96.05 per barrel. For both critical oil benchmarks, it’s their highest closing levels since May 22. Wednesday’s spike came a day after the U.S. military said it destroyed five Iranian tankers in response to attempted missile attacks on a Navy warship. Tehran responded with attacks on U.S. ships and a base in Jordan. Gas prices rose to $4.22 earlier Wednesday morning, the highest level since June 5.