Global Oil Prices Plunge, Middle East Conflict Gains Nearly Wiped Out in a Week
Global oil prices came under renewed pressure during trading on Friday, 26 June 2026, as market fears over supply disruptions from the Middle East subsided. Optimism that energy distribution routes are beginning to return to normal has caused the geopolitical risk premium to continue shrinking, even though security threats around the Strait of Hormuz have not completely disappeared.
Citing Refinitiv data as of 09:25 Western Indonesia Time, the price of Brent crude stood at US$74.48 per barrel, down 1.04% from the previous close of US$75.26 per barrel. Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude weakened by 0.93% to US$71.25 per barrel from the previous day’s position of US$71.92 per barrel.
This week’s price movement indicates considerable selling pressure. Since the close of trading on 19 June 2026, Brent crude has corrected by approximately 7.6%, while WTI has fallen by around 7%. This correction has practically wiped out almost all of the price increases previously triggered by escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. When the conflict intensified, market participants had anticipated potential major disruptions to global oil supplies, causing prices to spike sharply. However, that sentiment is now fading after oil distribution flows began showing signs of recovery.
Based on charts tracking global oil price movements from July 2025 to June 2026, Brent and WTI had moved relatively stably in the range of US$60 to US$70 per barrel during the second half of 2025 into early 2026. A surge only occurred towards the end of March into April 2026 when tensions in the Middle East increased. During that period, Brent prices briefly soared to nearly US$115 per barrel, while WTI also moved above US$100 per barrel. Although prices remained at high levels with considerable volatility for a time, the trend has reversed in recent days. The Brent line on the chart shows a sharp decline to around US$74.48 per barrel, while WTI fell to US$71.25 per barrel. This decline indicates that the market now assesses the risk of oil supply disruptions as being much lower than it did several weeks ago.