Oil Prices Could Hit $120, Analysis Finds, As Americans Absorb $100 Billion Fuel Hit

CBS Bay Area

September 9, 2026

Goldman Sachs is warning that heightened attacks in the Persian Gulf and Red Sea could push global oil prices above $120 a barrel, which would add to the surging fuel costs Americans have faced during the Iran war.

The investment bank's forecast implies a roughly 20% increase in the cost of Brent crude, the international benchmark, which is trading at nearly $100 a barrel. Oil prices have spiked in recent weeks as the Middle East conflict drags on, with U.S. military forces striking three Iranian oil tankers on Saturday and the Houthi rebels attacking Saudi oil facilities.

On Tuesday, the price of Brent briefly climbed to $99.46 a barrel before dipping to $97.85. Over the past two months, Brent has climbed from roughly $72 a barrel as increased fighting in the Middle East erodes hopes of a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway that normally carries a fifth of the world's oil flows.

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