Brent crude rose 3.2% on October 22, 2026, to $112.27 per barrel, its highest level since May 18, after a new round of attacks on vessels in the Persian Gulf revived global supply risk. U.S. West Texas Intermediate gained 2.8% to $99.80, according to AP.
Iran's Revolutionary Guard reported that four vessels were hit in the northern Gulf and that three others struck mines west of the Strait of Hormuz, according to The Guardian. Houthi militias aligned with Tehran struck targets in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, killing two people at a civilian airport in Dammam and two more in a drone attack on an oil field. The United States ordered part of its diplomatic personnel out of Saudi Arabia, and European and Asian stock indices traded lower. For Mexico the transmission channel is fiscal: the federal government adjusts the stimulus to the Special Tax on Production and Services (IEPS) on gasoline every week, an instrument that cushions the pass-through of international crude to the pump price.
In the week of October 17 to 23, the IEPS stimulus for Magna gasoline was 59.48%, with a charge of 2.71 pesos per liter for the consumer, and for Premium it was 66.19%, with 1.19 pesos, according to La Jornada. Diesel held a zero rate for the sixth consecutive week and received additional support of 2.53 pesos per liter, a mechanism that activates when international crude reaches $100 per barrel. Maximum prices stood at 24 pesos per liter for Magna and 27 for diesel. Globally, data from consultancy Kpler cited by The Guardian indicate that Persian Gulf crude exports already exceed their pre-war levels, partly because of increased overland pumping toward the Red Sea and the Gulf of Oman.
The next review of IEPS stimuli, which the Treasury publishes in the Official Gazette of the Federation, will cover the week of October 24 to 30 and will show whether the rise in crude translates into greater fiscal support. In the energy market, the signal to watch is the flow of vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, which sets the pulse of global supply.
This article was written with the assistance of artificial intelligence from verified sources and reviewed by a human editor before publication.