Oil prices rose more than 4% at settlement on Friday, hitting their highest levels in over a month amid the ongoing Middle East conflict. Brent Crude futures surged by $3.87 (4.59%) to settle at $88.10 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate futures surged by 4.48% to $82.49.
Oil prices settled lower on Friday after the latest round of US-Iran fighting as traders grew hopeful that shipping would eventually resume in the Strait of Hormuz, but prices finished with sharp weekly gains. Brent crude futures fell by 29 cents to close at $76.01 a barrel.
GlobalData warns that disruptions in key Middle East shipping routes are tightening energy supplies and raising oil prices, with every sustained $10-per-barrel increase potentially reducing annual GDP growth in major energy-importing economies by 0.1–0.5 percentage points.
Oil prices fell in Asia on Monday after the US and Iran announced an agreement that is expected to reopen the key Strait of Hormuz shipping route.
Oil prices went up further on Wednesday, extending a multi-day rally, as the Iran and US blockades of the Strait of Hormuz continued.
Oil prices edged lower in early Tuesday trading as markets pinned cautious hopes on a revival of US-Iran diplomacy, even as tensions around the Strait of Hormuz underscored the fragility of the situation ahead of the expiry of a two-week ceasefire.
Oil prices declined from an early trade of over $119 a barrel, a peak since 2022, caused by Saudi Arabia and other OPEC members cutting supplies due to disruptions from the expanding US-Israeli war with Iran.
Oil prices edged lower on Wednesday after surging in the previous session, as traders weighed fresh US inventory data and signs of possible export relief from northern Iraq against continuing concerns over Middle East supply disruptions.
US Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates crude oil inventories in China increased by about 900,000 barrels per day (b/d) between January and August this year, essentially acting as a source of demand by removing barrels from the global markets.
