{"id":30103,"date":"2026-03-06T18:59:29","date_gmt":"2026-03-06T18:59:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/uncategorized\/30103\/"},"modified":"2026-03-06T18:59:29","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T18:59:29","slug":"wti-crude-rises-beyond-85-as-escalating-middle-east-turmoil-drives-oil-prices-higher-further","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/live-updates\/30103\/","title":{"rendered":"WTI crude rises beyond $85 as escalating Middle East turmoil drives oil prices higher further"},"content":{"rendered":"Crude oil prices rose on Friday as the Middle East conflict continued. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) reached $85.05, its highest since 24 April, up more than 8% on the day and about 26% for the week. \n\nBrent rose 5.5% on the day to $87.80. The Financial Times reported Qatar\u2019s Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi said the conflict involving the US, Israel, and Iran could push oil to $150 a barrel. \n\n

Supply Disruption Risks<\/h3>\nAl-Kaabi said that even if the conflict ended immediately, Qatar would need \u201cweeks to months\u201d to return to normal delivery cycles. US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the US Navy would escort ships as soon as reasonably possible and that prices should fall in weeks rather than months. \n\nFederal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said petrol prices may spike but this is unlikely to cause lasting inflation. He said a longer period of higher energy prices could create wider issues. \n\nAfter a Senate vote on Wednesday, the US House rejected a measure on Thursday to limit President Donald Trump\u2019s ability to take further military action against Iran. Trump said Iranian officials had reached out to seek an agreement, while Iran\u2019s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran had not asked for a ceasefire and had rejected talks with the US.\n\nWe recall how the crisis in the Middle East last year sent WTI crude soaring by 26% in a single week. That event serves as a critical reminder that geopolitical flare-ups remain the most potent catalyst for sharp, unexpected moves in energy markets. The memory of that volatility should anchor every strategy we consider in the coming weeks.\n\n

Trading Strategies For Volatility<\/h3>\nCurrently, the market feels deceptively stable, but fundamentals point to underlying tightness. The latest Energy Information Administration (EIA) report shows U.S. crude oil inventories have drawn down by 3.7 million barrels, tighter than analysts expected. With OPEC+ signaling it will maintain its production cuts through the next quarter, any disruption to supply could have an outsized impact on price. \n\nGiven this backdrop, traders should look at volatility as an asset class to be traded. Buying long-dated call options on WTI or Brent futures offers a defined-risk way to position for a sudden price spike, similar to the one we saw unfold in 2025. We can look at the CBOE Crude Oil ETF Volatility Index (OVX), which jumped over 40% during past conflicts, as a benchmark for how quickly the price of insurance can rise. \n\nWe must also respect the potential for rapid reversals, just as the US Energy Secretary predicted last year, even if his timing was off. History shows that war-related price spikes can collapse on news of a ceasefire or a release from strategic reserves. For this reason, using put spreads to bet on a downturn or selling covered calls against existing long positions can provide a valuable hedge against a sudden thaw in tensions. \n\nThe political rhetoric from last year, with conflicting statements from US and Iranian officials, is a lesson in itself. We should treat official statements with caution and focus on verified actions, such as naval movements or changes in oil tanker flows. The historical pattern, from the Gulf War in 1990 to the events of 2022, shows that the market ultimately responds to barrels actually removed from supply, not just threats.\n\nCreate your live VT Markets account<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0start trading<\/a>\u00a0now. <\/b>\n

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Start trading now – Click here<\/a> to create your real VT Markets account <\/strong> <\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Oil surged as Middle East conflict persists; WTI hit $85, Brent $87.80; officials warn $150 possible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30103","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-live-updates"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"josephine","author_link":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/author\/josephine\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30103","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30103"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30103\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30103"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30103"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30103"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}