Photo taken on March 8, 2026, shows transport trucks in the Spanish Basque city of Astigarraga. ANDER GILLENEA / AFP
Oil prices surged above $100 a barrel for the first time in nearly four years on Sunday, March 8, over worries that the spiraling Middle East war could create prolonged supply disruptions. Both crude oil benchmarks, the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Brent, jumped by over 15 percent as markets opened Sunday evening, touching levels not seen since the early months of Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
US President Donald Trump, however, dismissed the spike as a "small price to pay" to eliminate Iran's nuclear threat, reiterating the White House's insistence that the rise is temporary.
"Short term oil prices, which will drop rapidly when the destruction of the Iran nuclear threat is over, is a very small price to pay for USA d orld, Safety and Peace," he wrote on social media Sunday evening. "ONLY FOOLS WOULD THINK DIFFERENTLY!" he argued.
Maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz – through which 20% of global crude and gas passes – has all but halted since the war began on February 28.
