Global Oil Price Retreats After Hitting 4-Year High as Iran War Deadlock Continues

Brent crude rose above $126 per barrel in early trading on April 30 for the first time since 2022.

Aramco oil facility near al-Khurj, just south of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Sept. 15, 2019. Fayez Nureldine /AFP via Getty Images

Oil prices retreated ​after hitting a four-year high of more than $126 a barrel ​on April 30, amid concerns that the U.S.–Iran war could escalate and disrupt oil flows out of the Middle East for an extended period.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures were down $2.05, or 1.7 percent, to $115.98 a barrel as ​of 6.16 a.m. ET, after touching an intraday high of $126.41, ​the ⁠loftiest since March 9, 2022, just weeks after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.