Brent Crude Oil Touches $110 as Middle East Violence Outweighs Supply Moves

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, touched $110 a barrel on October 16, 2026, gaining about 3% during the session, according to Turkish news outlet Haberler.com, which also reported that US crude benchmark WTI climbed to $100.72 a barrel. The rally came hours after prices in the same session had dropped below $106, reflecting a day of sharp swings driven by competing news of violence in the Middle East and attempts by energy authorities and governments to add supply to the market.

A volatile trading day

Prices did not move in one direction on October 16. Turkish broadcaster Bloomberg HT reported Brent down 0.39% to $105.51 a barrel and WTI down 0.55% to $97.43 earlier in the session, citing easing pressure from supply measures. Irish broadcaster RTÉ reported a different snapshot later the same day, putting Brent at $108.80 (+2.7%) and WTI at $100.20 (+2.3%), with Brent up 1.2% and WTI up 6.5% for the week. A day earlier, on October 15, financial outlet Milliyet/Uzmanpara reported Brent December futures falling 1.5% to $104.47 and WTI November futures at $94.16, down from a previous Brent close of $106.06.

The spread between these figures reflects different moments and contract months rather than conflicting reporting: oil fell on sanctions-relief news early in the day and then rose sharply as new violence broke out in Yemen and the Gulf.

Violence in Yemen and the Gulf drives the risk premium

Bloomberg HT reported 'escalating clashes' between Saudi Arabia and Houthi forces in Yemen, including a missile strike on a presidential compound in Aden that it said killed two security personnel. Al Jazeera, reporting on the same October 15 attack on Yemen's Al-Maashiq presidential palace, cited Yemen's health minister Qasim Buhaibeh as saying five people were killed and 16 injured, including two of the prime minister's bodyguards; Al Jazeera described the strike as a 'first of its kind' direct hit on government headquarters. The Saudi-led coalition's spokesperson, Major-General Turki al-Maliki, told Al Jazeera that Riyadh's airport had come under roughly 20 attacks over 11 days, with 17 people killed and more than 300 injured, and accused the Houthis of obtaining ballistic missiles from other countries in the region.

Both Bloomberg HT and RTÉ linked the oil-market move to a surge in attacks near the Strait of Hormuz. RTÉ reported that Iran had escalated strikes in response to a US blockade of its ports and sanctions imposed the previous month, citing shipping-data firm Kpler.

Saxo Bank's head of commodity strategy, Ole Hansen, told RTÉ that the market was 'caught between persistent supply disruption risks in the Middle East,' as traders weighed the geopolitical flare-up against government efforts to add supply. Separately, Haberler.com reported that Ukraine's president had announced a resumption of strikes on Russian oil refineries, adding to supply uncertainty despite an existing energy-related ceasefire arrangement with the United States.

The IEA and Washington try to add supply

The International Energy Agency said in its October Oil Market Report that G7 leaders agreed on October 2, 2026 to accelerate delivery of volumes under the 'IEA Collective Action' announced on March 11, prioritizing the release of diesel. Bloomberg HT and Haberler.com both reported that the IEA agreed to release more than 20 million barrels of diesel, part of roughly 100 million barrels of remaining emergency reserves from the March program, in an attempt to cool prices.

On the sanctions side, Haberler.com reported that the US Treasury extended a waiver allowing Russian oil company Lukoil's fuel stations outside Russia to keep operating until April 24, 2027, and temporarily eased some restrictions on Russian diesel trade. At the same time, Washington imposed new sanctions on 16 individuals and 10 organizations tied to networks that move Iran's oil revenue, according to Haberler.com. Milliyet/Uzmanpara and Bloomberg HT both reported that the US administration was separately considering easing sanctions on 'shadow fleet' tankers — vessels used to transport Russian, Iranian and Venezuelan oil while avoiding Western restrictions — in order to lower global freight costs and effectively increase available supply.

What analysts say about the outlook

Bloomberg HT reported that analysts it cited said the supply measures — the IEA reserve releases and potential sanctions relief on tankers — provided some support to the market, but that any lasting price relief would depend on a reduction in regional tensions rather than on supply interventions alone.