The Sea Voyager crude oil tanker anchored off the Port of Long Beach in Long Beach, California, US, on Thursday, May 7, 2026.
Tim Rue | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Oil prices rose Monday after Israel ordered troops to push deeper into Lebanon, renewing concerns that clashes with the Iran-backed Hezbollah group could threaten a fragile ceasefire between Washington and Tehran.
Brent crude futures, the international benchmark, gained 2.45% to $93.35 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate futures added 2.8% to $89.78 per barrel.
The escalation in hostilities, which followed the U.S.-brokered Israeli-Lebanon talks in Washington on Friday, dimmed hopes that Washington and Tehran were nearing an extension of their ceasefire arrangement.
“Together with Defense Minister Yisrael Katz, I instructed the IDF to expand the maneuver in Lebanon,” Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday. The order came despite a ceasefire declared in April.
Goldman Sachs said risks to its fourth-quarter 2026 Brent and WTI forecasts of $90 and $83 per barrel remain “two-sided,” with the bank warning that while persistent Middle East supply disruptions could push prices higher, weakening demand could create meaningful downside risks.
Goldman estimated that weak April oil retail sales data from China and Western Europe together implied around 2 million barrels per day of downside risk to its already subdued demand forecasts.
