Brent Slips to $105.84 as War Premium Battles Hormuz Anxiety

Brent settled at $105.84 a barrel this evening, down 1.50% on the day, while WTI closed at $101.28, off 0.88%. On any normal Wednesday in any normal year, those would be uncomfortable prints for energy ministries from Riyadh to Moscow. In May 2026, with a regional war running in the background, they look almost serene.

That serenity is doing a lot of work. The market is, in effect, pricing two contradictory stories at once.

Story one: the war premium is leaking. Traders who loaded up on crude…