Brent jumps more than 4 percent back toward $88

Brent crude jumped more than 4 percent early on Wednesday, 29 July 2026 (7 Mordad 1405), returning to around $88 a barrel. Sahmino's price feed recorded Brent at $87.76 at 07:28 Tehran time, up 4.63 percent, in line with Trading Economics data for the same window ($87.65). The move reversed the earlier overnight picture, when Brent had slipped back toward $83.

According to Bloomberg, the driver was a return to hostilities after several days of relative calm: US Central Command said it had intercepted a surprise Iranian missile attack on American forces stationed in the region, while for a second consecutive day drones were launched from Iraqi territory toward oil facilities in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province. The full extent of the damage remains unclear.

Wednesday's gain claws back part of a roughly 16 percent drop over the three preceding sessions, which Bloomberg described as Brent's biggest such decline since 2020. American Petroleum Institute data released on Tuesday, 28 July, also pointed to a drawdown of about 3.3 million barrels in US crude inventories in the week ending 24 July.