- Brent crude rose 7.1% this week and WTI gained 9.8%, with both benchmarks approaching their strongest weekly performance since July.
- Renewed Middle East hostilities, attacks on tankers near the Strait of Hormuz and threats to Gulf exports have intensified concerns about supply disruption.
- UK diesel prices reached 183.5p per litre and US diesel prices reached $5.78 per gallon, raising operating costs for farmers, delivery firms and construction companies.
- Russia’s extended diesel export ban and attacks on its refineries have compounded the global refining squeeze.
- Crude oil has roughly doubled year to date, making oil and broad commodity funds the strongest-performing commodity exposures in 2026.
Quotes
“This latest spike has really caught everybody by surprise and hit them quite hard because it’s been such a large spike and because of the time of year”
“A lot of people have ordered in much smaller increments and more often, as they are trying to hedge their bets a little.”