Brent touches $119 before falling back

Brent Crude touched $119 per barrel intraday on 19 March — 76% above the pre-war level of $67.41 — before settling at $108.65 after Netanyahu claimed Israel was working to reopen the strait of Hormuz⁠¹. The $10 intraday swing is a measure of how prices now move on political statements rather than physical supply data. The trajectory has been relentless: $103.14 on 14 March, past $106 on 15 March, $110.90 on 17 March, and now $119 — a 15% climb in five trading days. The IEA's record 400-million-barrel strategic reserve release, announced a week ago, failed to hold prices below $100 for more than a single session.

Three named analysts have placed $200 within their forecast range. Ann-Louise Hittle of Wood Mackenzie forecast $150 "soon" and called $200 "not outside the realms of possibility." Vandana Hari of Vanda Insights said $200 is "already within sight" and noted that Middle Eastern benchmarks — Oman and Dubai crude — have already crossed $150⁠². Adi Imsirovic of the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies called $200 "perfectly possible" and a "major handbrake to world economy"⁠³. Rystad Energy modelled two scenarios: a two-month war yields $110 by April; a four-month war, $135 by June⁠⁴. Chatham House assessed last week that Brent could reach $130 if the conflict persists for months. At the current pace, that threshold may arrive weeks before the timeline the institution modelled.

The split between Brent and Middle Eastern benchmarks matters more than the headline number. Brent is priced off North Sea delivery and reflects global expectations. Oman and Dubai crude reflect the physical cost of sourcing oil near a closed strait where daily transits have fallen to single digits against a pre-war average of 138. The $30-plus gap between regional and international benchmarks means energy importers in Asia — Japan, South Korea, India — face an effective price closer to $150 already. Europe's position is compounded by the gas dimension: EU storage stood below 30% before the latest Qatar LNG damage, and Bloomberg traders expect the Asian LNG benchmark to surpass $26 per million British thermal units by mid-April⁠⁵.

The market has now absorbed every intervention — strategic reserve releases, Russian sanctions waivers, Iranian tankers allowed through the strait — and continued to climb. Each measure adds marginal barrels. None reopens Hormuz. Until the strait functions or the war ends, the question for importing economies is not whether prices reach $150 but how quickly.