WTI tops US$100, Brent nears US$116 as Hormuz fears grow

North American crude rose above US$100 a barrel on Friday, Oct. 23, 2026, and Brent climbed to nearly US$116, a day after Iran said seven tankers were hit in the Strait of Hormuz. December WTI was up US$2.73 at US$102.20 and Brent up US$2.72 at US$115.89 as of 10:30 a.m. ET, CNBC market data showed.

Watch: Oil hits US$116: what you’ll pay at the pump this weekend, our 90-second CNM Explains video with the weekend gas price forecasts.

The move follows our report on Thursday that oil neared US$100 as Iran reported seven tankers hit in Hormuz. The December WTI contract closed Thursday at US$99.47, The Canadian Press reported, and Brent settled at US$113.17 after touching its highest level in five months, The Associated Press reported. Earlier on Friday, Brent traded as high as US$116.11 at 10:21 a.m. ET, according to CNBC data. Prices are delayed and moving.

AP reported that oil prices reached levels not seen since May amid halting efforts to bring the United States and Iran back to the negotiating table. Brent has climbed from less than US$97 at the start of October on uncertainty about when the war with Iran will allow the global energy industry to return to normal, AP said.

Shipping attacks are a big part of that worry. Iranian state television reported that four tankers were targeted and caught fire and three more were damaged by naval mines overnight Wednesday, claims AP said it could not independently confirm. Shipping data firm Lloyd’s List Intelligence said there have been 28 attacks on ships in October, the highest since the war began on Feb. 28, though tankers are still moving Gulf oil through the strait at night in a lane protected by the U.S. military, AP reported.

AP also reported concern that U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran could resume, with a close Israeli election on Oct. 27. Turkey hosted foreign ministers from Egypt, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy on Friday to discuss conflicts in the Middle East, AP said.

For Canadian drivers, higher crude has already shown up at the pump. Statistics Canada said gasoline prices in September were 27.8 per cent higher than a year earlier, pushing the annual inflation rate to 3.1 per cent, The Canadian Press reported on Oct. 19. Natural Resources Canada said the national average price of diesel was $2.68 a litre in the week ended Tuesday, up from $1.50 a year earlier, according to a CP report on a Farm Credit Canada study.

Governments have cut some fuel taxes. Ottawa extended its fuel excise tax relief until the end of January, which is expected to save drivers up to 10 cents a litre on gas, and Alberta paused its 13-cent-a-litre gasoline and diesel tax from Oct. 1 until the end of the year, CP reported. On Oct. 1, the Canadian Automobile Association put the national average price of gas at $1.77 a litre.

Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem said on Oct. 17 that persistently high global energy prices will drive up the outlook for inflation at home, CP reported. He said damage to Gulf refining capacity and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz mean there is no relief in sight for global oil prices, and that those forces feed through to what Canadians pay for gasoline, diesel and heating oil. The central bank announces its next rate decision on Oct. 28, as our rate decision explainer sets out.

The Canadian dollar was trading at 71.49 cents US at 10:40 a.m. ET, up 0.12 of a cent, CNBC data showed. Macklem said on Oct. 17 that the loonie’s relative stability against the U.S. dollar reflects some recent weakness in the U.S. dollar but also outside optimism about Canada, CP reported.

For Alberta, the price of oil drives the provincial budget. The February budget assumed WTI would average US$60.50 a barrel and forecast a $9.4-billion deficit. In its Aug. 27 fiscal update, the province projected a $2-billion surplus instead, said WTI had averaged just above US$88 since April and estimated that each US$1 increase in the average price adds $680 million to the treasury, CP reported. The update said WTI would have to average US$73.50 over 12 months for those numbers to hold, and Finance Minister Jason Nixon said a sustained high price would mean a much larger surplus.

Not all of the rally reaches Alberta producers. Western Canadian Select, the province’s heavy oil benchmark, settled at a discount of US$27 a barrel to WTI on Oct. 16, the widest since 2023, as we reported. The province’s books for 2025-26 ended with a $2.2-billion surplus.

Energy stocks rose with crude on Friday. The S&P/TSX capped energy index was up 2.13 per cent at 10:40 a.m. ET, according to TMX Money, while the broader S&P/TSX composite was down 340.64 points, or about 0.9 per cent, at 35,632.81, according to TMX Money. Our TSX morning report has the sectors and biggest movers.

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Via The Canadian Press and The Associated Press; market data from CNBC and TMX Money.

This article is for information only and is not investment advice. Speak to a licensed adviser before making investment decisions.