# What on earth is going on with the oil price?

> Oil prices have been unusually volatile since the Iran conflict began, trading more than a third above pre-war levels of about $71 a barrel. The explainer attributes the swings to strikes on shipping and energy infrastructure, the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, and comments from world leaders.

- Date: 2026-03-12 · published 2026-03-12T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: geopolitics · region Middle East · magnitude medium
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/20345-what-on-earth-is-going-on-with-the-oil-price
- Commodities: [Crude Oil (Brent)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/BRENT.md), [Crude Oil (WTI)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/WTI.md)

## Why it matters

The Strait of Hormuz carries roughly a fifth of global oil supply, so sustained disruption keeps crude and energy-linked input costs high, feeding into biofuel margins and feed production costs.

## Read by commodity

- WTI: bullish ▲
- BRENT: bullish ▲

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| BRENT | 2018-09-28 | [Why The Oil Rally Is Slowing Down \| OilPrice.com](https://feedsoft.ai/events/63203-why-the-oil-rally-is-slowing-down-oilprice-com.md) | +4.5% | -5.6% |
| BRENT | 2018-07-02 | [What higher oil prices mean for OPEC and the U.S. \| Brookings](https://feedsoft.ai/events/63956-what-higher-oil-prices-mean-for-opec-and-the-u-s-brookings.md) | -3.1% | -4.9% |
| BRENT | 2026-04-16 | [The Iran war has shattered oil's price compass \| Reuters](https://feedsoft.ai/events/8814-the-iran-war-has-shattered-oil-s-price-compass-reuters.md) | +2.9% | +3.3% |
| BRENT | 2026-05-27 | [Canola prices are rising on forecasts of high oil prices by the end of the year.](https://feedsoft.ai/events/19358-canola-prices-are-rising-on-forecasts-of-high-oil-prices-by-the-end-of-the-year.md) | -1.3% | -19.1% |
| BRENT | 2020-04-09 | [Saudi Arabia and Russia end their oil-price war with output cut agreement](https://feedsoft.ai/events/53548-saudi-arabia-and-russia-end-their-oil-price-war-with-output-cut-agreement.md) | -20.8% | -7.2% |
| WTI | 2018-09-28 | [Why The Oil Rally Is Slowing Down \| OilPrice.com](https://feedsoft.ai/events/63203-why-the-oil-rally-is-slowing-down-oilprice-com.md) | +3.1% | -6.8% |
| WTI | 2018-07-02 | [What higher oil prices mean for OPEC and the U.S. \| Brookings](https://feedsoft.ai/events/63956-what-higher-oil-prices-mean-for-opec-and-the-u-s-brookings.md) | -0.3% | -4.5% |
| WTI | 2026-04-16 | [The Iran war has shattered oil's price compass \| Reuters](https://feedsoft.ai/events/8814-the-iran-war-has-shattered-oil-s-price-compass-reuters.md) | +1.8% | +11.8% |

## Sources

- bbc.com: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce3g49w5zxwo

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Data from Feedsoft AI (https://feedsoft.ai/). For information only; not investment advice.