Oil holds firm on Friday; WTI near $92 and Brent above $100, heading for a double-digit weekly gain

Crude oil stayed at elevated levels on Friday, 24 July 2026 (2 Mordad 1405). U.S. West Texas Intermediate traded near $91.93 a barrel, while the global Brent benchmark held above $100 (around $100.28). Brent is on track for a weekly gain of nearly 14 percent, one of its biggest weekly jumps in recent months.

The main driver is intensifying military tension: a 13th consecutive day of U.S. strikes on Iran was reported early Friday, and both sides have ruled out any near-term ceasefire. Concern over disruption to cargoes through the Strait of Hormuz, the route that carried about a fifth of the world's oil before the war, has kept the supply-risk premium elevated in global markets.

For Iran's economy the surge cuts both ways: it lifts the dollar value of oil exports, while making global fuel and transport more expensive and reinforcing inflation expectations, which pressure the domestic gold and currency markets.