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EnergyNow Morning Oil Price Report
Report Date & Time: September 24, 2026 – 5:30 a.m. MDT – Using Trading View Prices
Summary
- WTI crude is approximately US$93.06 per barrel, up US$0.90, or 0.98%, from Wednesday’s official US$92.16 settlement. Oil has turned higher as hopes for a quick U.S.-Iran diplomatic breakthrough fade and physical Middle East supply remains disrupted.
- Brent crude is approximately US$104.52 per barrel, up US$1.44, or 1.40%, from Wednesday’s US$103.08 settlement. The larger Brent gain continues to reflect its greater exposure to seaborne Middle East supplies and the Strait of Hormuz.
- The bullish geopolitical backdrop is being partly offset by rising U.S. crude inventories. EIA data showed commercial crude stocks increased by roughly 3 million barrels to 426.4 million barrels last week, compared with expectations for a decline.
Latest Oil Prices
As of approximately 5:30 a.m. MDT Thursday, WTI was trading around US$93.06 per barrel, compared with Wednesday’s $92.16 settlement. That puts WTI US$0.90 higher, or 0.98%, making the morning move clearly up.
Brent was approximately US$104.52 per barrel, compared with Wednesday’s $103.08 settlement, an increase of US$1.44, or 1.40%.
Wednesday had already produced a strong reversal. Brent surged US$3.83, or 3.86%, while WTI gained US$1.64, or 1.81%, as traders reassessed the prospects for a rapid end to the Iran conflict.
WTI is now firmly trading on the November 2026 contract following this week’s rollover, so there is no longer a need to compare today’s quote with the expired October contract.
Why Oil Is Moving
The dominant issue has shifted back to geopolitics.
Talks between the United States and Iran have produced little visible progress. Iran is reviewing Washington’s response to its peace proposals, but Tehran continues to demand that the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports be lifted and that the Strait of Hormuz reopen as part of an agreement.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told the United Nations General Assembly that Iran would not surrender to U.S. pressure, reinforcing concerns that negotiations could remain difficult.
The physical shipping situation is also supporting prices. Only three commodity vessels reportedly transited Hormuz Wednesday, roughly 80% below the recent 10-day average. That sharp decline has renewed concern about the availability of Middle Eastern barrels despite improving Saudi export alternatives.
Key Market Risks or Catalysts
The most important bearish factor is U.S. inventories.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that crude inventories increased by approximately 3 million barrels to 426.4 million barrels, while analysts surveyed by Reuters had expected a 641,000-barrel decline.
Diesel remains another major market risk. U.S. distillate inventories fell by 428,000 barrels to 107.4 million barrels, while European diesel futures remain around record levels.
Markets are also watching conflicting reports about possible U.S. diesel-export restrictions. A White House official denied a report that Washington was preparing a 90-day export ban, but the possibility has added another layer of volatility to already tight global fuel markets.
Bottom Line
Oil has reversed much of the bearish momentum seen earlier this week.
WTI is back above $93 and Brent above $104 as traders recognize that diplomacy has yet to produce a concrete resolution and Hormuz shipping remains severely constrained.
The fundamental tension is straightforward: U.S. crude inventories are rising, but international physical supply remains vulnerable.
Until tanker traffic through Hormuz shows a sustained recovery or U.S.-Iran negotiations produce a credible agreement, geopolitical risk is likely to remain an important support for crude prices.
Western Canadian Select (WCS)
The latest available WCS assessment located for this report is US$78.17 per barrel for Wednesday, September 23. The same published market snapshot put the comparable WTI price at US$92.71 per barrel, producing a WTI-WCS discount of US$14.54 per barrel.
This WCS series uses a different market-price snapshot than the official NYMEX WTI settlement cited above — Reuters reported Wednesday’s official WTI settlement at US$92.16 — so the $78.17 WCS price and $14.54 spread should be treated as a matched market assessment from the same source rather than calculated against the NYMEX settlement.
A directly comparable September 22 WCS-WTI assessment from the same methodology was not available in the public sources reviewed this morning. The latest independently verified Hardisty physical differential before Wednesday was US$21.35 below WTI CMA on September 21, which had widened by US$0.35 from the prior session. Because WTI CMA and the WTI benchmark used in Wednesday’s $14.54 calculation are different methodologies, the apparent narrowing should not be treated as an exact day-over-day spread change.
Who Watches the WCS Price
Oil sands producers realize WCS-linked prices on unhedged production, and their capital plans key off the differential outlook. US Midwest and Gulf Coast refiners with coking capacity buy WCS as feedstock and treat the differential as their margin opportunity. The Alberta government forecasts royalty and tax revenue directly off WCS — a one-dollar move in the differential is worth hundreds of millions of dollars to the provincial budget over a fiscal year. And diluent demand links WCS volumes back to condensate markets.
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