Oil prices increased by 3% following Trump’s statement about losing patience with Iran
Oil prices rose by over 3% on Friday following a statement from U.S. President Donald Trump that his patience with Iran is waning, which heightened concerns regarding the stalled efforts for a peace deal to resolve ship attacks and seizures in the Strait of Hormuz.
Brent crude futures rose by $3.47, or 3.3%, reaching $109.19 a barrel by 0925 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures increased by $3.72, or 3.7%, reaching $104.89.
Throughout the week, Brent has risen by 7.8%, while WTI has increased by 9.9% due to uncertainty surrounding the fragile ceasefire in the Iran conflict.
Following discussions with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Trump stated that they concurred on the necessity of preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon and emphasized the need to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, expressing his diminishing patience with Tehran. “Market attention has shifted back to the impasse and the obstructed Strait of Hormuz, with a potential risk of renewed military escalation,” remarked Vandana Hari, founder of oil market analysis firm Vanda Insights.
President Xi refrained from commenting on his discussions with Trump regarding Iran; however, a statement was released by China’s Foreign Ministry. “This conflict, which ought never to have occurred, has no justification for persisting,” the ministry stated.
During the summit, Trump mentioned that China is interested in purchasing oil from the United States, which was one of the anticipated deals the market was watching for.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards reported that 30 vessels crossed the Strait of Hormuz between Wednesday evening and Thursday. While this number is significantly lower than the typical 140 per day seen before the war, it represents a notable increase if verified. “An increasing number of vessels are filtering through the Strait… although currently this has a more tangible impact on sentiment than on the actual oil balance,” stated PVM analyst Tamas Varga.
Kpler, a shipping analytics firm, reported on Thursday that 10 ships had navigated through the strait in the past 24 hours, in contrast to the five to seven that have typically crossed daily in recent weeks.
