Oil prices settled sharply higher on Thursday, with Brent crude closing $3.67 higher at $98.29 a barrel after fresh attacks on tankers revived fears about supplies — just a day after the market suffered one of its steepest falls in years.

Brent crude, the global benchmark, settled up 3.88 per cent at $98.29 a barrel, Reuters reported. US West Texas Intermediate crude closed $2.40, or 2.72 per cent, higher at $90.52 a barrel. The rebound reversed Wednesday's rout, when both benchmarks tumbled more than 8 per cent to their lowest settlement levels since 31 August.

A whiplash week

The swing has been extraordinary. Brent traded as high as about $118 a barrel last Friday before collapsing to $94.62 on Wednesday, as traders bet that the US midterm election results would push Washington towards ending the war with Iran. Thursday's tanker attacks forced a rapid reassessment: if shipping through the region is at risk, supplies could tighten fast even while diplomacy continues.

The market is now caught between two powerful forces. On one side, hopes of a negotiated end to the conflict — and a global oil surplus that JPMorgan estimates reached 1.1 million barrels a day in September — point to lower prices. On the other, any escalation could send Brent back above $110, according to Eurasia Group, which still puts the chance of renewed US strikes on Iran at 60 per cent.

US commercial crude inventories fell by about 900,000 barrels in the week to 30 October, according to official data released on Wednesday — a modest tightening that offers little comfort either way. Prices have swung almost $24 in a week, and with both diplomacy and military risk live at the same time, the next sharp move could come in either direction. Market moves are not investment advice.

Sources: Reuters via LSE, Oil rises as investors weigh risk of Iran war escalation, 5 November 2026; Rigzone, Oil prices tumble after midterms, 5 November 2026; Kalkine, WTI crude rises, Brent gains after two-month lows, 5 November 2026.