U.S. crude oil sees largest weekly price jump on record

Stocks also sharply dropped, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average having its worst week since April 2025.

0 of 1 minute, 43 secondsVolume 0%

00:11

01:31

01:43

This video file cannot be played.(Error Code: 233011)

Oil prices surge at record pace

01:43

Get more newson

March 6, 2026, 11:36 PM GMT+9 / Updated March 7, 2026, 6:16 AM GMT+9

By Steve Kopack

Listen to this article with a free account

0 seconds of 5 minutes, 1 secondVolume 50%

00:00

05:01

U.S. crude oil recorded its biggest weekly gain on record, dating back to the inception of the West Texas Intermediate oil contract in March 1983, as the escalating Iran war threatens global energy supplies.

On Friday alone, U.S. crude oil spiked more than 12% to more than $91 per barrel, its highest price since late 2022.

Since the start of the year, the price of U.S. crude has risen nearly 60%.

Brent, the international oil benchmark, broke $94 per barrel as it jumped more than 9% to its highest level since late 2023.

The move in prices came amid growing fears that the Iran war could lead to long-term energy supply issues. A report from The Wall Street Journal said that Kuwait had "begun cutting production at some oil fields after running out of room to store its bottled-up crude." NBC News was not immediately able to verify the report, but industry analysts have been warning of the possibility in recent days.

Shortly after that report, President Donald Trump took to Truth Social, posting that "There will be no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!"

Stocks also sharply dropped. The S&P 500 closed down more than 1.3%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 453 points, or 1%, and the Nasdaq Composite tumbled 1.6%.

All three major indexes now sit firmly in negative territory for the year. It was the Dow's worst week since April 2025.

For the S&P 500, it was the worst week since October.

Markets also fell after a grim labor market report showed the economy shed 92,000 jobs in February and included downward revisions to the previous two employment reports.

"The pace of job gains over the last few months is still dramatically slower than it was in 2024 and much of 2025," said Elyse Ausenbaugh, head of investment strategy at J.P. Morgan Wealth Management. "Add higher oil prices given conflict in the Middle East and renewed tariff uncertainty to the convoluted jobs market story, and you have a tricky, stagflationary mix of risks in the backdrop for the Fed."

All of the downbeat economic news comes as the Trump administration tries to combat an affordability crisis that consumers have been facing down since Trump took office again.

On the campaign trail in 2024, Trump pledged to "cut your energy costs in half within 12 months." But inflation spiked after the president introduced sweeping tariffs in April. Despite the administration walking back some of those, inflation remains above 2%, which the Federal Reserve considers an acceptable level.

Administration officials have also said that gas prices would come down after they captured Venezuela's president, Nicolás Maduro, and worked to open up that country's economy. But oil companies have been skeptical about investing in Venezuela.

On Thursday, Trump told Reuters that gas prices will "drop very rapidly when this is over, and if they rise, they rise, but this is far more important than having gasoline prices go up a little bit."

Earlier in the week, Qatar's state-run energy firm also cut production of liquified natural gas and other energy products.

Currently, hundreds of ships containing oil and LNG are stuck off the coast of Iran, unable to pass through the Strait of Hormuz to the global market as tensions continue rising between the U.S., Israel, Iran and neighboring countries.

More than 20% of the world's daily oil supply normally flows through the strait off Iran's southern coast.

"On day six of the conflict, commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained virtually nonexistent," JPMorgan Chase commodities analysts wrote in a note Friday morning. "The market is shifting from pricing pure geopolitical risk to grappling with tangible operational disruption, as refinery shutdowns and export constraints begin to impair crude processing and regional supply flows."

Iraq has also cut production by 1.5 million barrels per day, JPMorgan's analysts said, adding that another 4 million barrels per day overall could be disrupted by the end of next week if the situation continues.

Since the war began last weekend, the price of U.S. crude oil has surged 35%. In turn, that has driven up gas prices for consumers. The current national average of around $3.32 per gallon, as of Friday morning, is up nearly 35 cents from Sunday, according to price-tracking service GasBuddy and AAA.

U.S. natural gas prices also jumped more than 6% on Friday. Wholesale gas prices, called RBOB, also moved higher by 2.5%.

Recommended

Iran TensionsIran war threatens Trump's affordability push as rising energy prices complicate Fed rate cuts

MarketsHome loans, gas, groceries: How the Iran war could upend Trump's touted economic gains

Iran Tensions Iran war threatens Trump's affordability push as rising energy prices complicate Fed rate cuts

Markets Home loans, gas, groceries: How the Iran war could upend Trump's touted economic gains