Oil Prices Surge on Supply Risk, Brent Crude Rises 8% in 5 Days
Oil prices rose more than 8% week-on-week as attacks on tankers and energy facilities in the Middle East raised concerns over extended supply disruptions.
International benchmark Brent crude futures for November delivery traded at $104.09 per barrel on Friday, up 8.1% from last Friday’s close of $96.28.
US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for October delivery traded at $99.20 per barrel, up around 8.4% from $91.48 a week earlier.
Oil prices rose this week as renewed tensions between the US and Iran heightened concerns over oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.
Prices also drew support from a decision by seven OPEC+ countries to keep their October production targets unchanged after approving a combined increase of 188,000 barrels a day for September.
Supply concerns deepened after Saudi Arabia’s Energy Ministry reported attacks on energy facilities Tuesday in the country’s south that caused fires in some areas.
Iranian officials also issued fresh warnings this week, heightening tensions in the region.
Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said Tehran would establish a “no-go zone” across and around the Persian Gulf in response to the US blockade.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warned that Iran would target US oil and natural gas companies in the region if Washington attacked Iranian tankers.
The escalation helped push Brent above $100 a barrel on Wednesday after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said its naval forces targeted two US vessels and eight oil tankers in the Persian Gulf, claiming the attacks inflicted heavy damage on the vessels.
In a statement, the IRGC said the strikes were “carried out in response to US aggression, including an attack on five Iranian oil tankers in the Persian Gulf.”
US Central Command separately said American forces had destroyed five Iranian crude oil carriers after Iranian forces twice targeted a US Navy warship with ballistic missiles.
Reports of an Iranian missile attack on a US military base in Jordan and Houthi attacks on facilities in southern Saudi Arabia added to fears that the conflict was spreading.
After an early pullback Thursday, prices rallied, with Brent closing at $107.63 a barrel and WTI at $102.48 as shipping risks remained in focus.
Yemeni media reported that Houthi forces had entered areas in southern Hodeida province after government and allied forces withdrew.
Their reported advances toward areas near Mocha raised concerns over the nearby Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which links the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden.
By Friday, diplomatic efforts had eased some supply concerns, pulling both benchmarks slightly lower though prices remained well above the previous week’s closing levels as uncertainty over Middle Eastern oil supplies persisted.
The Financial Times reported that Middle Eastern foreign ministers were seeking a temporary arrangement with Iran to facilitate shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, with talks expected Monday in Oman.
Pakistan also urged Washington and Tehran to resume negotiations. Its ambassador to the UN said lingering mistrust on both sides had prevented the implementation of an agreement brokered by Islamabad. Brent Crude Oil Tops $100 as Iran Strikes U.S. Vessels, Tankers
