Oil Prices Head for Weekly Gain Amid Persistent Middle East Supply Risks

PUKMEDIA

Oil prices.

Oil prices rose on Friday and were set for weekly gains because of renewed fears of supply disruptions from the key Middle East producing region after renewed fighting between the U.S. and Iran this week curtailed shipping ‌in the Strait of Hormuz.

According to Reuters report, Brent futures were up 19 cents, or 0.25%, to $76.49 a barrel by 0319 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained 19 cents, or 0.26%, to $72.27.

For the week, Brent was set for a gain of about 6% and WTI was headed for a 5% increase.

Iranian armed forces launched attacks on U.S. military infrastructure in Gulf states on Thursday following U.S. strikes on Iran's southern coastal and eastern provinces, further straining a three-week-old ceasefire. Separately, Iranian media reported multiple explosions across southern Iran, including Bushehr, where one of the country's nuclear plants is located.

The renewed fighting came the day that Iran buried its slain supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali ‌Khamenei, ⁠the culmination of a week of mass funeral processions and rallies. Khamenei was killed on the first day of the war on 28 February.

The renewed fighting has delayed the full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, which carried about 20% of daily global oil and gas supplies before the war.

Tanker traffic through the strait on Thursday was at a near standstill, according to ship-tracking ⁠data, as vessel owners assessed the risk from the latest strikes, which started after Iran hit a Qatari LNG ship exiting the waterway near Oman.

Still, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he did not think the war would restart because ⁠of the new fighting and that "anything that happens is going to be over very quickly."



PUKMEDIA