Oil prices rose on Friday and were on track for weekly gains after the United States threatened to impose an indefinite naval blockade on Iran, fueling concerns over possible disruptions to crude supplies from the Middle East.
Brent crude futures gained $1.43, or 1.64 per cent, to $88.50 a barrel at 0810 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose $1.56, or 1.92 per cent, to $82.81 a barrel.
Bjarne Schieldrop of SEB Research said higher oil prices were a natural response to the latest US approach, which suggests a significant prolongation of tensions in the Middle East with little prospect of a near-term resolution.
On Thursday night, the United States warned that it could maintain a naval blockade of Iran indefinitely while increasing economic pressure on Tehran as ceasefire negotiations stalled.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said: “Watch this space for more announcements coming next week because we are going to apply measures like have never been seen in the history of economic isolation of a country.”
The developments have raised concerns about the resumption of normal flows through the Strait of Hormuz, with no immediate prospect of a return to normal traffic.
The latest US threats came as Iran restricted flows through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global shipping route that handled about one-fifth of the world’s daily oil and liquefied natural gas supplies before the conflict began in late February.
Shipping traffic through the strait fell below the monthly average towards the end of the week, as Iran and the United States traded competing claims over control of the strategic waterway.
