Oil Advances Toward $100 as Gulf Storm and Middle East Tensions Threaten Supply

Crude oil benchmarks advanced, with Brent settling up 0.92% at $101.51 per barrel and WTI rising 0.92% to $90.25 per barrel amid mounting supply disruption risks. Upward momentum stemmed from a developing Gulf of Mexico storm that threatens offshore infrastructure accounting for 15% of U.S. crude output and six refineries along the Gulf Coast. Markets also digested an API crude inventory drawdown of 2.09 million barrels alongside renewed Houthi strikes on Saudi airports, which counterbalanced recovering Saudi pipeline flows and a 100-million-barrel emergency reserve release agreed by the G7.