Brent crude futures pushed above $106 a barrel on Friday and were on course for a weekly gain of more than 5%, as renewed maritime incidents near the Strait of Hormuz reinforced fears over global oil supply.
The international benchmark had closed at $105.72 on Thursday, with the July contract rising nine cents on the day, before strengthening further as the week drew to a close.
The strait, normally a conduit for roughly a fifth of the world’s seaborne oil, remains effectively closed under a dual blockade that has become a central obstacle in stalled US-Iran negotiations.
This week’s seizure of a ship off the United Arab Emirates and the sinking of a cargo vessel off Oman added a fresh risk premium to crude, signalling that the corridor is far from reopening to normal traffic.
The International Energy Agency has estimated that crude and fuel flows through Hormuz fell by about four million barrels a day in March and April. It warned that the global oil market could remain materially undersupplied through October even if the conflict were resolved next month.
Prices had hovered near $100 earlier in the week after the White House said Trump and Xi discussed keeping the strait open during their Beijing summit, but the diplomatic signal was not enough to offset the supply concerns.