WTI crude tops $86, hits highest level since April 2024, Brent crude breaks above $89 a barrel

Oil prices surged Friday after Qatar’s energy minister said the Middle East war could result in Gulf exporters shutting down production in days.

Global benchmark Brent crude futures added 4.12% to trade at $88.93 a barrel by 8:27 a.m. ET. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were last seen 6.17% higher at $86.01.

WTI and Brent hit highs of $86.70 and $89.50 earlier, the highest levels since April 2024. U.S. crude is on pace for its biggest weekly gain since April 2020.

The spike comes as the U.S.-Iran conflict spreads across the Middle East, disrupting energy production and bringing traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping route, to a near standstill.

Qatar’s energy minister Saad al-Kaabi told The Financial Times Friday that crude prices could reach $150 a barrel in the coming weeks if oil tankers were unable to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. This could “bring down the economies of the world,” Kaabi said.

“Everybody that has not called for force majeure we expect will do so in the next few days that this continues,” Kaabi told the FT. “All exporters in the Gulf region will have to call force majeure. If they don’t, they are at some point going to pay the liability for that legally, and that’s their choice.”