Market history · Commodities ·
The Iran war sends Brent above $113
On Monday 23 March 2026 Brent crude traded above $113 a barrel, after reaching $115 earlier in the session. Prices had risen roughly 50% since the war with Iran began, with the Strait of Hormuz effectively shut and Middle Eastern oil production sharply curbed.
President Trump had urged Iran to reopen the strait and threatened to target major Iranian power plants if it did not; Tehran said it would target US and Israeli energy, IT and desalination assets in the region if its own energy facilities were hit. The International Energy Agency warned that the oil market faced its biggest shock on record, even with large emergency releases from reserves.
The takeaway
Energy is a transmission channel: a supply shock in one commodity can change the path of inflation, rates and every asset class.
This is a retrospective about a past event, provided for general information. It is not investment advice, does not describe RockLake's positioning at the time, and past performance is not a guide to future performance. Read the risk warning.