Brent crude pared its sharpest single-day gains in over a decade on April 7, 2026 after climbing to an intraday peak of $138 per barrel, settling later in the session near $126 as traders absorbed escalation news from the Persian Gulf and balanced it against signaling from the White House about diplomatic off-ramps. The retreat from session highs marked the wildest intraday swing in Brent since the 2008 commodity peak.

The morning rally was driven by reports of Iranian strikes on tanker infrastructure inside the Strait of Hormuz, threatening to escalate the conflict from a regional standoff into a generalized maritime crisis. WTI traded in a parallel path, peaking near $135 before easing to settle around $122.

Multiple factors contributed to the afternoon retreat. White House officials signaled they were exploring de-escalation pathways with Pakistan as an intermediary, while traders also priced in the structural reality that even at the elevated peak, physical supply disruption was being partially offset by emergency SPR releases coordinated across IEA member countries.

EIA data later confirmed that for the month of April, Brent averaged $117 per barrel — the highest monthly average since 2008 — with the $138 intraday peak on April 7 standing as the single-session high. The structural premium was supported by IEA reports that crude and fuel flows through Hormuz fell by around 4 million barrels per day in March and April.

Saudi Arabia informed OPEC its crude oil production had dropped to its lowest level since 1990. The EIA assessed Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE, Qatar, and Bahrain collectively shut in 10.5 million barrels per day of crude oil production during April, peaking near 10.8 million bpd in May as storage limits forced additional producer cutbacks.

Volatility on April 7 came alongside extraordinary trading volume — CME WTI futures saw over 4 million contracts changing hands, a record level reflecting both panic positioning and unwinds of speculative shorts as the geopolitical risk premium reset higher.

Continuing coverage: Oil Prices · Geopolitics · Crude Oil.