By Adam Clark
Oil prices were rising early on Thursday as investors focused on potential U.S. action against Iran, boosting energy stocks.
Brent crude, the international standard, was up 1.1% at $71.15 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate was rising 1.3% to $65.87 a barrel.
Oil was building on its biggest daily gain since October, recorded on Wednesday amid reports that the U.S. military could be preparing for a strike against Iran. The Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S. has amassed the most air power in the Middle East since the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
Any military action could lead to a closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint where more than 20 million barrels of oil a day is transported, equivalent to around 20% of global consumption.
Representatives from the U.S. and Iran met this week to negotiate a possible deal over Iranian enrichment of uranium. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said there had been "a little bit of progress" in those talks, but that the two parties were "very far apart on some issues."
"Investors seem to have concluded that there has been no meaningful political breakthrough following talks earlier this week," wrote Deutsche Bank analyst Jim Reid in a research note on Thursday.
Major oil companies were rising in U.S. premarket trading. Exxon Mobil was up 1.1% and Chevron was rising 0.9%.
Occidental Petroleum was gaining 3.9%. The energy producer -- which counts Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway among its major investors -- reported earnings on Wednesday after the market closed.
Occidental posted fourth-quarter adjusted earnings per share of 31 cents, compared with estimates of 17 cents a share according to analysts polled by FactSet. Revenue fell to $5.11 billion from $5.64 billion, missing analysts' forecast of $5.55 billion.
Write to Adam Clark at adam.clark@barrons.com
This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 19, 2026 06:39 ET (11:39 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.