Spot Brent Oil Price Hits $140 for First Time Since 2008 on Trump Rhetoric

TradingKey

AuthorJane Zhang

Apr 3, 2026 1:05 AM

View all comments（0）



TradingKey - On Thursday, April 2, Dated Brent crude prices reached $141.37 per barrel, the highest level since 2008, surpassing the peak set during the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022.

Currently, Brent futures prices are trading near $109, while WTI futures prices are around $110. WTI crude saw a maximum intraday gain of 13.8%, briefly hitting $113.93, as U.S. crude settlement prices broke above $110 per barrel for the first time since 2022.

Regarding the news, Trump delivered a national televised address, signaling a hardline stance that prompted short-sellers betting on a quick end to the conflict to cover their positions rapidly, leading to a surge in oil prices. The International Energy Agency has characterized this as the most severe supply shock in oil market history, with its duration remaining difficult to predict.

The gap between physical crude prices and futures prices is currently widening sharply: on Thursday, Dated Brent surged to $141.37, while Brent futures remained near $107 on the same day. Dated Brent represents the physical price of North Sea crude with confirmed loading dates, rather than the "paper" price of crude.

In addition, spreads between different crude futures delivery months are expanding. The WTI crude prompt spread—the price difference between the two nearest contracts—widened to more than $16 per barrel on Thursday, the largest premium on record. When front-month contract prices trade significantly higher than back-month ones, the market typically interprets this as pricing for extreme tightness in near-term physical supply. Traders noted the move was driven by forced liquidations of short positions betting on a quick end to the war, as well as expectations of significantly tightening U.S. crude supply in the coming weeks.

Disclaimer: The information provided on this website is for educational and informational purposes only and should not be considered financial or investment advice.

Comments (0)

Click the $ button, enter the symbol, and select to link a stock, ETF, or other ticker.

Commenting Guidelines

Recommended Articles

Bitcoin Price Prediction: Bitcoin Breaks $80,000, Can It Return to $100,000?

TradingKey - As of the Asian session on August 25, Bitcoin (BTC) briefly breached the $80,000 mark intraday, climbing to a high of $81,272.62 and hitting a nearly three-month high. Driven by a steadily weakening US dollar, continuous capital inflows into Bitcoin ETFs, and an easing US crypto regulatory environment, Bitcoin has continued to trend higher. Since August, Bitcoin's cumulative gain has exceeded 28%, rebounding sharply from its mid-August low near $64,000, which has significantly improved short-term bullish market sentiment.

Oracle Stock Price Forecast: Wins Citi Bullish Call After 50% Pullback, Can the Stock Recover?

Oracle (ORCL) shares have experienced a sharp drawdown since peaking on June 1, falling from a peak of $249 down to $114.50. This decline represents 4 to 5 standard deviations of Oracle's historical volatility. Technical factors—including concentrated investor sell-offs, widening credit spreads, and market-based equity issuances—have combined to exacerbate downside pressure on the stock price. However, the steep drop in Oracle's stock price does not necessarily imply a deterioration in the fundamentals of its AI cloud business.

US Stocks Fall as Philadelphia Semiconductor Index Drops Over 3%; Cloud Service Providers Buck Trend, Optical Communication Stocks Lead Losses; Marvell Falls 10% Post-Earnings, Nvidia Drops 4%

U.S. stocks fell after Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh expressed concern over current inflation trends earlier today. Cloud service providers (CSPs) bucked the trend to gain, while the optical communications sector led the losses. At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.02% to 53,559.99; the Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 0.52% to 26,402.42; and the S&P 500 Index declined 0.25% to 7,711.76.

【US Pre-Market】Market Focuses on Warsh Speech; Optical Communication and Storage Stocks Broadly Fall, PayPal Plunges Over 16%, Marvell Technology Drops Over 8%

TradingKey - On Friday (August 28) Eastern Time, futures on the three major US stock indexes were mixed in premarket trading. Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh is scheduled to deliver a key speech at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium. Against the backdrop of elevated US Treasury yields, investors are awaiting new monetary policy signals, causing market sentiment to turn cautious.

Gold Price Forecast: Ahead of Warsh's Jackson Hole Speech, Is Gold's Next Target $4,500 or $4,700?

TradingKey - As of the Asian session on August 28, gold prices (XAUUSD) were trading near $4,580 with a downward tilt. Gold had previously approached $4,700, but with U.S. inflation remaining elevated and several Federal Reserve officials delivering hawkish signals at the Jackson Hole symposium, market participants reduced long gold positions ahead of a speech by Fed Chair Kevin Warsh, causing gold prices to pull back from their highs.

Featured Tools