Crude oil prices climbed Wednesday, Sept. 9, with Brent approaching $100 a barrel as escalating Middle East attacks heightened concern over Gulf exports and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. West Texas Intermediate also advanced above $94, while weakening Chinese oil demand provided a counterweight to the geopolitical risk premium.
Brent was at $99.33 a barrel, up 1.4%, at 2:12 a.m. GMT, while WTI rose 1.4% to $94.34, Reuters reported. The gains extended oil’s advance to a fourth consecutive session after new attacks involving Iran, U.S. forces and Iran-backed Houthis raised the risk of further disruptions to regional energy infrastructure.
Brent Crude Tests Key $102-$104 Resistance Zone
Brent’s daily chart shows the benchmark approaching an important technical barrier after a strong recovery from its summer lows. Spot Brent was near $99.67 on the supplied TradingView chart after reaching an intraday high of $101.26.
Brent Crude $102-$104 Resistance. Source: TradingView X
The chart places immediate resistance around $102-$104, where a horizontal supply zone converges with a longer-term descending trendline. Brent has moved above that falling trendline on the latest advance, but the upper wick on Wednesday’s developing candle shows that sellers remain active near $100-$101.
Market analyst Shyam Nair Krishnan said on X that the longer upper wick could signal early hesitation, while cautioning that the session was still in progress. A sustained break above $104 would strengthen the technical picture and leave the $120 area as a longer-term chart reference. Failure to clear the zone could instead produce consolidation or a pullback after the recent rally.
WTI Holds Above Rising Short-Term Support
WTI also retains a constructive near-term structure. A one-hour TradingView CFD chart showed U.S. crude near $94.09, above its 50-period exponential moving average at about $93.11.
WTI Crude Holds Above $93 Support. Source: TradingView
The rising moving average has tracked the advance from roughly $82 in late August, while recent price action has repeatedly tested the $94-$95 area. Holding above $93 would preserve the short-term upward structure, while a decisive break below the moving average would weaken momentum and expose lower support near $92.
Hormuz Disruptions Keep Supply Risk Elevated
The fundamental backdrop remains dominated by the Middle East. Preliminary Kpler data showed only six commodity vessels crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, compared with a 10-day average of 12, Reuters reported. Reduced traffic through one of the world’s most important energy corridors increases the risk of delayed or constrained crude shipments.
OPEC+ has provided little additional supply relief. Seven participating producers, including Saudi Arabia and Russia, agreed Sunday to maintain September required production levels through October. Their next meeting is scheduled for Oct. 4.
U.S. inventories are also relatively tight after commercial crude stocks fell 4.5 million barrels to 424.5 million barrels in the week ended Aug. 28. Refinery utilization climbed to 98%, while crude inventories remained about 1% above their five-year average. The next Energy Information Administration report is due Thursday.
U.S. Commercial Crude Oil Inventories. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration
Demand remains the main restraint on further gains. Sinopec’s research arm expects Chinese oil consumption to fall by 600,000 barrels a day, or 8.9%, in 2026, marking a third consecutive annual decline.
For crude oil prices, $100 remains the immediate psychological test for Brent. A break through $102-$104 would reinforce the bullish trend, while slowing Chinese demand and resistance near current levels could limit the advance even as geopolitical supply risks remain elevated.
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