Brent springs back 3% as Iran conflict keeps oil traders on edge

Brent crude for January 2027 settlements soared 3.14% and was fetching $97.59 a barrel at 8:08 am ET Thursday. West Texas Intermediate for December deliveries jumped 2.35%, trading at $90.19 a barrel at the same moment. The rally clawed back losses from the previous session, with traders waiting on the next twist in the military conflict between Washington and Tehran.

Wednesday was brutal for bulls. Brent plunged 7.41% and settled at $95.87, while WTI tumbled 6.02% and landed at $90.22 as investors digested the Democratic Party's midterm election victories and chewed over what a reshaped US Congress might mean for the standoff with Iran.

The election fallout spilled straight into the war debate. Both US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance pinned the Republican defeat on the war against Iran, according to Breaking The News. Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf mocked that explanation from Vance, dismissing it as 'loser gambler energy.'

Supply flows are shifting too. The Financial Times reported Wednesday that two tankers hauling Russian diesel toward the United States changed course mid-voyage. The Russian tanker Talisman slipped from the Atlantic into the Mediterranean and now sits off Algeria signaling 'for orders,' while Leruo, a Hong Kong-owned, Sierra Leone-flagged vessel, flipped its signal to Brazil. Greek-owned Agioi Fanendes appears to still be headed for its original destination, New York.

There's fresh exploration news on the horizon as well. Colombia's National Hydrocarbons Agency president Ernesto Forero said Wednesday the country plans to offer new oil exploration opportunities in the first quarter of 2027, noting officials are still deciding which areas are ready. 'We want to move quickly, but not hastily,' he added.

With Brent back under $100 but swinging several dollars a session, all eyes stay fixed on headlines out of the Middle East — and on whether Washington's next move calms the market or lights another fuse.