Brent Crude Oil, a key market metric for energy prices, cleared $90 per barrel on Friday, amid the ongoing war with Iran.

As of press time, the metric stood at $93.70 per barrel and was up 8.29%. The spike is largely due to Iranian strikes on oil refineries in the Persian Gulf, leading many producers to shut down operations.

Shipping giants Maersk and Cosco have also suspended operations in the region, further complicating efforts to keep oil prices stable. 

The development is a short-term win for Russia, which has seen one of its critical economic lifelines become more lucrative overnight. The U.S. Treasury this week, waved some restrictions on Russian oil purchases to let India stabilize its energy sector without triggering repercussions from Washington.

"To enable oil to keep flowing into the global market, the Treasury Department is issuing a temporary 30-day waiver to allow Indian refiners to purchase Russian oil," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said. "This deliberately short-term measure will not provide significant financial benefit to the Russian government as it only authorizes transactions involving oil already stranded at sea.

India is an essential partner of the United States, and we fully anticipate that New Delhi will ramp up purchases of U.S. oil. This stop-gap measure will alleviate pressure caused by Iran’s attempt to take global energy hostage."

Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent at Just the News. Follow him on X.