Oil Holds Near Six-Week High Above $96 as Hormuz Risk Persists; Wheat Eases on Black Sea Talks

Brent crude extended its gain to $96.11/bbl (+2.12% on the day, roughly its highest level in nearly six weeks) as markets continued to digest the Sept 1 US strikes on Iran, the Iranian retaliatory barrage on US-linked bases in Bahrain, Jordan and Iraq, and the Aug 31 tanker strikes near Khasab -- all of which further undercut confidence in the fragile Iran-Oman Hormuz corridor and President Trump's repeated claims of 'almost total control' of the strait. Separately, global wheat futures eased slightly to roughly $775.75/bushel, pulling back from the more-than-three-year peak set Aug 28, as Turkey pushed to revive a Black Sea grain-safe-passage mechanism with Russia and Ukraine even though Ukrainian grain exports remained down about 58% year-over-year in August. Analysts cautioned the wheat pullback reflected Black Sea diplomacy optimism specifically, not an easing of the compounding Gulf-driven cost pressures on global food and energy supply chains.