DOMINANT ANGLE
Brazil is measuring the Gulf crisis by the barrel: the drop in Brent below $100 carries more weight in Brasília than the military maneuvers undertaken by London.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
Brent crude fell for the fourth consecutive session on Monday, September 21, dropping 3.09% to $100.66, with WTI down 3.27% at $92.94 (Estadão)
- 02
G7 foreign ministers (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom, United States) are demanding that the Houthis "immediately cease all military actions" and calling on Iran to halt its arms deliveries (Estadão/AFP)
- 03
The Red Sea International Film Festival in Saudi Arabia has been postponed to 2027 due to regional escalation and uncertainty over the Strait of Hormuz, after the cancellation of the Jeddah Grand Prix earlier this year (Veja)
ANALYSIS
Brasília, September 22, 2026. From Brazil, the crisis surrounding Saudi Arabia is first seen in oil price curves. Brent fell for the fourth consecutive session on Monday, September 21, dropping 3.09% to $100.66 a barrel, while WTI gave up 3.27% to $92.94, reports Estadão. The decline brings the international benchmark back below the symbolic $100 mark, after it had approached $110 earlier in the month. This is explained, according to the newspaper, by the "expectation of recovery of Saudi Arabia's oil flows" and by "diplomatic advances in the Middle East", particularly on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. Riyadh is working to restore part of the capacity of its East-West oil pipeline, which alleviates the risk premium integrated into prices for several weeks — a relief that also benefits, notes Estadão, the yields of US Treasury bonds and stock markets.
On the diplomatic front, the Brazilian press relays the joint statement of the G7 foreign ministers — Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly on Monday, they condemn the "unacceptable attacks" launched from Yemen against Saudi Arabia and demand that the Houthis "immediately cease all military actions", as well as threats to civilian navigation. The group also calls on Iran to end its supply of arms to the rebels, accusing it of violating UN Security Council resolutions, specifies Estadão citing AFP.
The regional tension is also translating into concrete cancellations, documented by Veja: the Red Sea International Film Festival, the region's main audiovisual event, has been postponed to 2027 "due to the escalation of tensions in the Middle East and uncertainties about the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz". A decision that echoes, according to the magazine, the earlier cancellation this year of the Jeddah Formula 1 Grand Prix, already a victim of the fallout from the war in Iran.
For the Brazilian press, it is these economic and logistical repercussions — barrel prices, international event schedules — that provide the most tangible measure of the crisis, far more than the military decisions made in London or elsewhere in the coalition.
