Brent Crude Price Hits $106.69 as Oman Postpones Hormuz Talks

Oman postponed the GCC-Iran meeting on Strait of Hormuz shipping that had been due in Salalah, removing the week's scheduled de-escalation catalyst. As a result, Brent crude oil price rose to $106.69 a barrel, up $2.08 or 1.99% on the day. The Saudi East-West pipeline remains shut after drone strikes on 10-11 September that its foreign ministry attributed to 'several drones originating from Iraq'. Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said the postponement was 'to ensure appropriate conditions for constructive dialogue that can help achieve sustainable understandings, support regional security and stability.'

The published bank forecasts cluster in the $80-86 range for Q4, with Goldman Sachs raising its December 2026 forecast by $5 to $85 Brent. JPMorgan expects Brent to average $86 in Q3. Analysts believe that a postponement without a firm new date reads very differently from an open-ended delay, and that any formal arrangement on Hormuz transit would attack the premium directly.

A key factor is the East-West pipeline restarting, which would be the largest single swing factor in the set due to its roughly 5 million barrels a day of rerouting capacity. Supply-side offsets, such as the EIA's raised US crude output forecast to 14.3 million barrels a day for 2027, also work against the bull case over a longer horizon.