Crude oil prices extended their rally Wednesday as renewed U.S.-Iran military strikes intensified fears of further supply disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz, pushing Brent crude toward $96 a barrel and keeping West Texas Intermediate above $90.
Brent crude futures rose 0.8% to $95.40 a barrel by 3:45 a.m. GMT, while U.S. WTI futures gained 0.5% to $90.66. Both benchmarks had surged more than $4 Tuesday, marking their largest daily gains since July as geopolitical risk returned to the center of the oil market.
WTI Crude Breaks a Months-Long Descending Resistance Line
The latest WTI daily chart adds technical confirmation to the geopolitical rally. Price has pushed through a descending resistance line that had capped advances since the spring, with Tuesday’s chart showing WTI closing around $90.33 after gaining roughly 4.7%.
WTI Crude Oil Daily Resistance Breakout. Source: Canarinho Finance (@CanarinhoFNC) on X.
The breakout changes the near-term technical picture. Holding above roughly $86-$88, where the former descending resistance passed before the breakout, would support the case that the ceiling is beginning to turn into support.
The next test lies around $92-$96, an area containing previous price congestion and summer highs. Failure to hold the breakout zone would weaken the bullish signal and reopen the possibility of a retreat toward the low-$80s.
For now, however, WTI’s move above $90 shows that traders are increasingly willing to pay a geopolitical premium for crude.
Brent Breakout Puts $99 and $102 in Focus
Brent’s daily structure is also strengthening after several weeks of tightening consolidation.
Brent Crude Oil Daily Consolidation Breakout. Source: Michael J. Kramer on X
The supplied Brent cash chart shows price moving above the upper boundary of a converging consolidation pattern near $94. Its marked Fibonacci levels identify approximately $98.92 as the next major technical hurdle, followed by about $102.34 if momentum continues.
Those are technical reference levels rather than guaranteed targets. A return below roughly $92 would raise questions about the breakout, while the $88-$90 region remains a deeper support area.
Strait of Hormuz Supply Risk Drives Oil Prices Higher
The immediate catalyst is renewed escalation between Washington and Tehran. The U.S. launched a new series of strikes against Iranian targets, prompting Iranian missile and drone attacks in the region. The exchange followed attacks on two tankers leaving the Strait of Hormuz Monday.
Shipping data underlines why oil traders are concerned. Only four commodity vessels crossed the Strait of Hormuz Tuesday, down from 10 Monday and well below the recent 10-day average of about 13, according to preliminary Kpler data reported by Reuters. The waterway carried roughly one-fifth of global oil consumption before the conflict disrupted normal traffic.
That supply risk is currently outweighing concerns about additional OPEC+ barrels. Seven OPEC+ producers agreed last month to implement a 188,000-barrel-per-day production adjustment in September and are scheduled to review market conditions again Sept. 6.
U.S. Oil Inventories Provide Another Bullish Signal
U.S. supply data also offered support. American Petroleum Institute figures cited by market sources showed crude inventories falling 2.6 million barrels in the week ended Aug. 28, while distillate inventories declined by 265,000 barrels.
The Energy Information Administration is scheduled to publish its official weekly petroleum report at 10:30 a.m. ET Wednesday, giving traders another important test of the current rally.
For crude oil prices today, the central question is whether geopolitical disruption can keep Brent above the mid-$90s and WTI above $90. A sustained WTI breakout and a Brent move through roughly $99 would reinforce bullish momentum, while any credible easing of U.S.-Iran tensions or restoration of normal Hormuz shipping could quickly reduce the geopolitical premium now embedded in oil prices.
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