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AI Capital Wire

AI, capital and geopolitics — decoded for investors.

Geopolitics & Markets

Brent crude

What is the world actually paying for a barrel, and how much of the move is the Gulf rather than demand?

96.02USD / barrel

+6.3 (+7.0%) since 28 Aug 2026

126.6961.35
Oct 2023USD / barrelSept 2026

Brent is the price against which roughly two thirds of the world's traded crude settles, which makes it the cleanest single read on how markets are pricing supply risk in the Gulf, the Red Sea and Russia.

The number on its own does not separate a geopolitical premium from ordinary demand. What it does do is date the moves precisely, so a claim that a conflict "sent oil to $120" can be checked against the month it supposedly happened.

How this is measured

Europe Brent spot price FOB, published daily by the U.S. Energy Information Administration and distributed through FRED. We plot the last quoted price of each month for the past three years. No smoothing, no averaging, no adjustment.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration via FRED (DCOILBRENTEU)·Retrieved 7 Sept 2026·Updated 1 Sept 2026

All observations
DateUSD / barrel
1 Sept 202696.02
28 Aug 202689.75
31 Jul 202696.95
30 Jun 202670.46
29 May 202692.88
30 Apr 2026124.24
31 Mar 2026126.69
27 Feb 202671.32
30 Jan 202672.25
31 Dec 202561.35
28 Nov 202564.07
31 Oct 202565.44
30 Sept 202568.52
29 Aug 202567.83
31 Jul 202573.43
30 Jun 202568.15
30 May 202564.32
30 Apr 202563.37
31 Mar 202577.23
28 Feb 202574.76
31 Jan 202577.11
31 Dec 202474.58
29 Nov 202474.16
31 Oct 202473.25
30 Sept 202472.35
30 Aug 202480.2
31 Jul 202481.39
28 Jun 202487.26
31 May 202479.41
30 Apr 202488.23
28 Mar 202486.17
29 Feb 202484.57
31 Jan 202482.98
29 Dec 202377.69
30 Nov 202381.72
31 Oct 202386.82