Global Oil Prices Hit $90, US Gas Prices Rise to $4 Amid US-Iran Conflict

Global oil prices briefly touched $90 per barrel, while US gas prices hit an average of $4 per gallon as the US-Iran conflict escalates. The price surge raises concerns about global supply.

Brent crude briefly touched $90.19 a barrel early Monday, its highest level since June 11, before easing to around $88.10 as diplomatic signals from Tehran offered some relief. West Texas Intermediate climbed to roughly $84.20, also its best level in over a month. Both benchmarks are riding a powerful rally: Brent gained close to 16% last week alone, the sharpest weekly move since April, as fighting between the United States and Iran entered its ninth consecutive day of US strikes.

The renewed escalation matters because it threatens the Strait of Hormuz, the chokepoint that carries a large share of the world's seaborne oil and gas. Iran has vowed that "not a single drop" of oil will transit the strait if US strikes continue, and its forces reportedly intercepted four vessels there over the weekend. Washington has responded by reimposing a naval blockade around Iranian ports. The conflict, which began February 28, had cooled after an interim US-Iran deal in June, but has since reignited, with the Pentagon confirming a third US soldier killed, bringing the war's American death toll to 17.

At the pump, the national average gas price crossed $4.003 a gallon on Monday, according to AAA data cited by Forbes, the first time above $4 in more than a month and up from $3.87 a week earlier . Diesel, which feeds directly into freight and grocery costs, rose to about $5.11 a gallon. The Trump administration's price-controlled "Freedom Fuel Network" stations were selling gas as low as $3.47 in parts of New Jersey and Pennsylvania, well below the administration's stated $2.50 target, a reminder of how far retail prices have drifted from the White House's goal.

For XOM and CVX, higher crude could support upstream margins even as refiners and consumers absorb the pain at the pump. The key variables to watch are whether Strait of Hormuz shipping stays constrained, whether Tehran's diplomatic overtures translate into an actual ceasefire, and how quickly retail gas prices catch up to the latest leg of the crude rally.