Brent crude oil climbed to $86.04 per barrel as of 5:20 a.m. Eastern Time on August 7, 2026, according to Fortune, marking a gain of $2.40 compared with the previous morning and representing an increase of roughly $19 per barrel relative to the same period one year ago. The latest reading underscores a sustained upward trend in global oil prices.
According to Fortune's data, Brent crude stood at $83.64 per barrel the day prior, equivalent to a daily gain of approximately 2.86%. Over a one-month horizon, prices have risen from $72.62 per barrel, a jump of 18.47%. On a twelve-month basis, oil has advanced 28.43% from $66.99 per barrel, reflecting a substantial recovery in global energy markets.
Brent crude serves as the primary global oil benchmark and is used by the U.S. Energy Information Administration as its main reference in its Annual Energy Outlook. West Texas Intermediate, or WTI, functions as the principal benchmark for North American crude markets.
Together, these two indices are the most widely followed indicators of global oil price performance. Oil prices are determined largely by supply and demand dynamics, including forward-looking signals from geopolitical developments and production decisions by OPEC+. In the United States, domestic policy toward drilling also plays a significant role.
Fortune noted that in 2025, the Trump administration moved to reopen more than 1.5 million acres in the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil and gas leasing, reversing a policy from the Biden administration that had limited drilling in the Arctic. The relationship between crude oil prices and retail gasoline costs at the pump is direct but asymmetric. Crude oil typically accounts for a majority of the per-gallon cost of gasoline, meaning that price swings in oil markets have an outsized effect on what consumers pay to fill their tanks.
However, analysts frequently observe that gas prices tend to rise quickly when crude surges, yet fall more slowly when oil retreats — a phenomenon sometimes described as "rockets and feathers." Oil's historical record has been marked by sharp cycles of boom and bust. Key episodes include the supply embargo of the early 1970s triggered by the Yom Kippur War, a price collapse in the mid-1980s driven by weaker demand and increased non-OPEC production, a spike in 2008 amid strong global demand followed by a crash during the financial crisis, and a historic collapse during the COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020 when Brent fell below $20 per barrel. The current price level, if sustained, could exert upward pressure on broader consumer prices.
Higher oil costs typically raise expenses across transportation, logistics, and energy utilities, with knock-on effects for goods prices throughout the economy. Source: Fortune (fortune.com), Joseph Hostetler, August 7, 2026.
Source: fortune.com