WTI Smashes $100 as Hormuz Tanker Sinking Rattles Markets

WTI crude for November delivery jumped 3.41% to $101.30 per barrel on Friday, crossing the psychologically critical $100 threshold for the first time since the conflict escalated. The move tracked Brent's 3.33% surge to $109.50, confirming broad-based risk-off buying across the complex.

The catalyst was U.S. Central Command's confirmation that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps struck and sank a Singapore-flagged container ship transiting the Strait of Hormuz. With roughly a fifth of global oil flows passing through that chokepoint, any disruption to shipping lanes feeds directly into WTI's risk premium.

Traders now face a market where geopolitical headlines, not inventory data, are setting the pace. Volatility around the $100-$105 zone is likely to persist as long as Hormuz transit risk remains unresolved.