Brent Crude Hits $105.26 After Two-Day 8.5% Rally
International oil benchmark jumped 4% Sept. 10 after a 4.3% gain the day before. Every dollar above $100 adds roughly 3 cents to diesel retail.
Why did oil jump above $105 this week?
Brent crude hit $105.26 per barrel Sept. 10, up 4% from the prior session. The international benchmark rose 4.3% Sept. 9, putting the two-day gain at 8.5%. The move marks the highest Brent price since early July and the second time this month the benchmark has crossed $100.
The source material does not specify the cause of the Sept. 9-10 rally, but the timing follows a 2.8% jump Sept. 9 tied to Middle East attacks. Brent has climbed $17.41 per barrel since Aug. 26, when the benchmark sat at $86.66 during a brief sanctions-driven selloff.
What the $105 price means for diesel
Every dollar Brent rises above $100 typically adds 2.5 to 3 cents per gallon to U.S. diesel retail within two to three weeks. At $105.26, that puts diesel on track to reach $4.85 to $4.95 per gallon by early October if the crude price holds. Diesel futures already hit $4.68 per gallon Sept. 2, the highest since the Iran war began in March.
A 10-truck fleet running 100,000 miles per month at 6 mpg burns roughly 16,667 gallons. A 15-cent-per-gallon diesel increase costs that fleet $2,500 per month before fuel surcharge recovery. Owner-operators running 10,000 miles per month at 6 mpg face an extra $250 monthly fuel bill for every 15 cents diesel climbs.
How long the rally lasts
Brent has now posted gains in seven of the past nine trading sessions. The benchmark spent most of August between $86 and $92, then broke through $97 Sept. 3 as Iran fighting intensified. The Sept. 9-10 move pushed Brent $8 higher in two days, the sharpest two-session climb since the war's opening weeks.
Oil volatility has defined the second half of 2026. Brent traded as low as $78 in mid-July, rallied to $102 in late July, fell back to $86 by late August, and now sits above $105. Small fleets cannot hedge fuel costs at this scale, so every $10 swing translates directly to settlement statements within weeks.
The bill for a 5-truck fleet
A five-truck operation running 50,000 miles per month at 6 mpg burns 8,333 gallons. If diesel climbs from $4.50 to $4.80 per gallon, the monthly fuel bill rises $2,500. Fuel surcharges typically recover 70% to 80% of the increase on contract freight, leaving the carrier to absorb $500 to $750. Spot freight surcharges vary by lane and shipper, and many small fleets report surcharge recovery below 60% on brokered loads.
The Trump administration announced a Venezuela oil deal Sept. 1 aimed at cutting fuel prices, but volume and timing remain unclear. The deal has not yet moved crude prices downward. Brent's climb from $88 to $105 since that announcement suggests the market expects limited near-term supply relief.
