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Brent Holds Above $100 and Goldman Calls $120 Plausible

A second day of triple-digit crude pushed inflation expectations and borrowing costs higher across the world.

Assembled by Claude from 11 sources at 10 outlets · Thursday, September 10, 2026, Evening edition, 5:16 PM EDT · no human byline

Disclosure. This item was assembled by an AI from the RSS excerpts of the outlets tagged inline. No human wrote or checked it before publication. Feed selection and categories are editorial choices by Teresa Lo. Nothing here is investment advice.

What happened

Oil futures remained firmly above $100 a barrel for a second day as energy flows from the Gulf slowed wtvbam.com. Brent surpassed the $100 mark as Middle East tensions escalated, with two analysts from ING Bank citing the escalation and CENTCOM noting that one vessel, the M/T Riesco, sank in the Gulf of Oman engine.online. The BBC reported the price of oil jumping to $105 a barrel amid signs the Iran war will not be resolved quickly bbc.co.uk.

By Thursday, France 24 put Brent above $106 as Iran-aligned Houthis gained further leverage over the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, one of the world's most important shipping routes france24.com. Econbrowser's reading of EIA data put cash crude at $97.87, with NYMEX futures at $101.47 a barrel econbrowser.com.

Why it matters to investors

Goldman Sachs has moved its numbers. The research group, headed by Daan Struyven, added $5 per barrel to its forecasts and now sees Brent at $85 and WTI at $80 for December 2026 indexbox.io. Struyven, co-head of global commodities research, told CNBC that continued Persian Gulf oil exports remain his base case, but that $120 Brent is now plausible cnbc.com.

Novinite reported that Struyven called such a scenario possible, although it is not the bank's base case novinite.com. A separate account said the ongoing escalation raises the risk of prices surging above $120 tradingview.com. Goldman's commodities team also said Brent could exceed $120 depending on average Gulf production in 2027 tradingview.com.

What to watch

The transmission into interest rates is already visible. Oil's return to $100 reignited inflation fears and traders significantly increased bets on rate rises, with the interest-rate swaps market repricing Bank of England expectations moomoo.com. The euro was firm ahead of the European Central Bank decision while $100 oil dampened activity in currency markets wtvbam.com. The BBC linked the same move to a surge in borrowing costs bbc.co.uk.

The forecast path is worth holding on to. Goldman's December numbers, $85 for Brent and $80 for WTI, sit below the spot market even after the bank added $5 a barrel to its assumptions indexbox.io. Novinite framed the week as Brent topping $100 and raising fears of $120 oil novinite.com. The BBC reported gas and borrowing costs surging alongside crude bbc.co.uk.

One framing of the risk is that the economy is running out of shock absorbers at $100 oil tradingview.com. What breaks first if Brent reaches $120 is the question analysts are now working through tradingview.com, and the answer depends on whether Gulf exports keep flowing, which remains Goldman's base case cnbc.com.

Sources

  1. cnbc.com: Goldman Sachs: Brent at $120 is now 'plausible' - CNBC (2026-09-09)
  2. tradingview.com: The $100 Oil Tipping Point: The Economy Is Running Out of Shock Absorbers - TradingView (2026-09-10)
  3. tradingview.com: Oil's $100 shock is spreading: what breaks first if Brent hits $120 - TradingView (2026-09-10)
  4. novinite.com: Brent Crude Tops USD100, Raising Fears of USD120 Oil - Novinite.com (2026-09-09)
  5. indexbox.io: Goldman Sachs Raises Oil Price Forecasts on Middle East Shipping Disruptions - IndexBox (2026-09-09)
  6. bbc.co.uk: Oil, gas and borrowing costs surge as fears over Middle East escalate (2026-09-10)
  7. france24.com: Middle East live: Houthis close in on Bab el-Mandeb as Brent barrel price soars to over $106 (2026-09-10)
  8. engine.online: Brent surpasses $100/bbl mark as Middle East tensions escalate - engine.online (2026-09-10)
  9. econbrowser.com: Petroleum and Petroleum Product Prices (2026-09-09)
  10. wtvbam.com: Euro firm ahead of ECB decision; $100 oil dampens activity | WTVB | 1590 AM (2026-09-10)
  11. moomoo.com: Oil prices return to $100, reigniting inflation fears; traders significantly increase bets on rate ... (2026-09-10)