At 6:30 a.m. Eastern Time on August 28, 2026, Brent crude oil was priced at $90.55 per barrel, representing a gain of 87 cents compared with the previous day's close of $89.68. The year-over-year comparison shows a significant increase, with oil trading approximately $22.34 higher than the price one year ago, when Brent was valued at $68.21 per barrel—a gain of 32.75 percent over the twelve-month period.
One month prior to August 28, Brent crude was priced at $90.29 per barrel, indicating relatively stable pricing over the short-term horizon with a marginal increase of 0.28 percent. Oil prices are fundamentally determined by supply and demand dynamics, including expectations about future supply and demand influenced by geopolitical events and decisions made by OPEC+. The current price reflects these market forces, which can shift rapidly in response to concerns about economic recession, conflict, and other large-scale disruptions.
Brent crude oil serves as the main global oil benchmark and is the primary reference point used by the U.S. Energy Information Administration in its Annual Energy Outlook. This contrasts with West Texas Intermediate (WTI), which represents the primary North American benchmark.
Brent better represents global oil performance due to its pricing of a substantial portion of the world's traded crude. The relationship between crude oil prices and consumer energy costs is complex. While crude oil generally comprises a majority of the per-gallon cost at the pump, gasoline prices also include refining and transportation costs, taxes, and retailer markups.
Changes in crude oil prices have an outsized impact on pump prices, though the relationship is asymmetrical—when oil surges, gas prices typically rise quickly, but when oil declines, gas prices often lag on the way down, a phenomenon sometimes described as "rockets and feathers." The Strategic Petroleum Reserve plays an important role in managing price volatility. The U.S. maintains this emergency reserve of crude oil primarily for energy security during disasters or supply disruptions. While it provides temporary relief during supply shocks and can help cushion crippling price increases, it is not intended as a long-term solution and is better suited to providing temporary assistance to consumers and maintaining critical economic functions.
Historically, oil prices have exhibited significant volatility driven by wars, recessions, OPEC decisions, and evolving energy policies. The 1970s oil embargo, the mid-1980s price collapse from oversupply, the 2008 financial crisis spike and subsequent plunge, and the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown when prices fell below $20 per barrel all illustrate the commodity's sensitivity to macroeconomic and geopolitical factors. Source: Fortune.com, Staff Writer Joseph Hostetler, August 28, 2026.
Source: fortune.com