New York, Feb 19, 2026, 13:59 EST — Regular session
- Brent and U.S. WTI crude traded near six-month highs as geopolitical risk returned
- Iran-linked shipping risk and a sharp U.S. inventory draw tightened the near-term picture
- Traders now watch fresh signals from Washington and Tehran and the next U.S. inventory report
Oil prices rose around 2% on Thursday, lifting Brent — the global benchmark — and U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) to their highest levels in about six months as traders focused on the risk of a U.S.-Iran clash. Brent futures were up $1.25, or 1.8%, at $71.60 a barrel by 1:29 p.m. EST, while WTI gained $1.22, or 1.9%, to $66.41. “The market will continue to rally in anticipation of something happening,” said Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates. (Reuters)
The move matters now because the Strait of Hormuz is a chokepoint for crude flows, carrying about 20% of global daily volumes. Traders have been paying a “risk premium” — extra dollars a barrel for potential supply loss — and estimates for that premium cluster around $7 to $10, Reuters columnist Clyde Russell wrote, even as the market largely assumes oil keeps moving. (Reuters)
Iran shut the Strait of Hormuz for a few hours on Tuesday, Iranian state media reported, without making clear whether the waterway had fully reopened. (Reuters)
In Washington, President Donald Trump pressed Iran to reach what he called a “meaningful” nuclear deal and suggested the next 10 days would show whether the U.S. escalates. A senior U.S. official also said Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Feb. 28 to discuss Iran, as the U.S. builds up military forces in the region. (Reuters)
On the fundamentals, U.S. commercial crude inventories (excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve) fell by 9.0 million barrels last week to 419.8 million barrels, the Energy Information Administration’s weekly summary showed. Gasoline inventories fell by 3.2 million barrels and distillate inventories dropped by 4.6 million barrels, while refineries ran at 91.0% of capacity; “product supplied,” a demand proxy, averaged 21.2 million barrels per day over the last four weeks.
The drawdown caught traders off guard. Analysts in a Reuters poll had expected crude stocks to rise, and crude futures pushed higher after the data. “Support for oil prices came from a very bullish EIA report, showing massive draws across the board and stronger U.S. oil demand,” said Giovanni Staunovo, commodity analyst at UBS. Phil Flynn, senior analyst at Price Futures Group, pointed to drivers on the product side: “Gasoline demand rose because people got their cars out of the snow and started driving them again.” (Reuters)
Demand signals outside the U.S. have also been firm. Asia’s crude imports are set to hit a record 28.51 million barrels per day in February, with China and India doing most of the pulling, though geopolitics is also shifting who sells what to whom. (Reuters)
But this is still a headline market. If the standoff cools, or if talks show enough progress to take some fear out of shipping routes, the premium that’s crept into crude could drain fast — and prices can give back gains just as quickly as they took them.
The next scheduled catalyst is the EIA’s next weekly petroleum status report, due on Feb. 25. Until then, traders will be watching every new signal from Washington and Tehran, and any fresh signs of strain — or calm — around the Gulf shipping lanes. (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
