Brent crude closed above $100 a barrel for the first time since August 2022 as millions of barrels remain trapped in the Persian Gulf. The global benchmark surged 9.2% on Thursday amid the biggest oil market disruption in history, with multiple vessel attacks across the Arabian Gulf expanding Iran's maritime campaign beyond the Strait of Hormuz.

West Texas Intermediate rose 9.7% to settle at $95.73, the highest in almost four years. The $100 price marks a psychological threshold where political pressure to end the war and control energy costs could intensify on US President Donald Trump. Earlier, Trump posted on Truth Social that an Iran without nuclear weapons is "of far greater interest" than oil prices.

Indicators of when flows through the Strait might resume remain mixed. Prices eased after Agence France-Presse reported Iran said it allowed some ships to cross the critical waterway and wasn't laying mines. The International Energy Agency warned this is the largest supply disruption in global oil market history. Wild price swings are also being exacerbated by financial flows from options markets to exchange-traded funds.