Renewed fighting in Strait of Hormuz pushes prices higher
September 2, 2026
The API inventory report called crude oil supplies down 2.6 million barrels, gasoline supplies up 348,000 barrels, and distillates down 265,000.
The average estimates for the DOE inventory report today from the Bloomberg survey are crude stocks down 368,000 barrels, gasoline supplies down 1.780 million barrels, and distillates down 780,000 barrels.
The US military said it began striking Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targets in Iran on Tuesday afternoon. The US military’s Central Command said “The strikes follow recent attempted attacks by the IRGC against commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and against American service members deployed to the region.
These renewed military actions pushed prices higher on the day as more risk premium gets added to the market. The energy market is lower to start today on what I would guess is profit taking after crude oil prices got above $90 per barrel.
Helping to limit the upside were some comments from Energy Secretary Chris Wright who stated that 17 million barrels of oil transited the Strait of Hormuz on Monday.
Diesel prices were strong yesterday as many commentaries referred to the low inventory levels of distillate inventories. The fact that Russia extended their diesel export ban out further also supported prices.
Over the last five years propane inventories for this reporting week have averaged 2.208 million barrels.