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Around the world, different types of oil are pumped from the ground. As a result, there are several oil markets, and their prices reflect varying geographic exposure to different world events. 

Brent vs. WTI: Key Differences in Oil Benchmarks

Two of the biggest oil markets trade in Brent Crude Oil and West Texas Intermediate or “WTI”. Both are classified as light, sweet crude oils suitable for refining into gasoline and diesel, yet they differ in source, quality, and location.

Brent crude is extracted from the North Sea, making it the benchmark for international, waterborne oil exports, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) is produced in U.S. landlocked fields and serves as the primary US benchmark.

For these reasons, Brent’s price is often considered the global reference price. However, Brent’s greater global exposure to world events makes it more price-sensitive to the impacts of global conflict relative to WTI.

Operation Epic Fury and Its Ripple Effects on Fuel Prices

Operation Epic Fury, a large-scale U.S.-led military campaign launched in February 2026 against Iran, has generated significant concern around the stability of the Middle East’s oil supplies.

The potential destruction of production and or key supply chain , including pipelines, hubs, and tanker ports, has driven the prices for both Brent and WTI crude significantly higher since last week.

The latest trading data point to both WTI and US national average  rising to multi-year highs.

Diesel Fuel Prices

Diesel fuel prices are released by the  each Tuesday. The last weekly reading was released on March 2nd, 2026, and reported diesel fuel’s price at $3.89 per gallon. AAA’s daily report for March 5th cited diesel at $4.17 per gallon.

Historically, large swings in diesel prices have been correlated with similar, though smaller, moves in . Looking more broadly, rising fuel prices will directly affect transportation costs, which will spill over to all goods that require transportation.

Heavy, bulk goods in particular will be more impacted by higher fuel costs. that involve significant amounts of heavy, high-volume materials, such as aggregate or concrete, will be disproportionately affected.