Oil prices posted strong weekly gains, with international benchmark Brent crude rising about 11% this week as escalating military tensions between the US and Iran and risks to oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz fueled expectations of tighter global supplies.
International benchmark Brent crude traded at $97.81 per barrel at 3.58 p.m. local time (1258 GMT), up 11.02% from last Friday's close of $88.10.
US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) traded at $89.59 per barrel, rising 8.71% from $81.78 a week earlier.
The rally began Monday after renewed US airstrikes on Iranian targets and Tehran's retaliatory actions heightened worries over the security of the Strait of Hormuz, through which around one-fifth of global oil trade passes.
Brent climbed above $90 per barrel for the first time since mid-June as markets priced in rising geopolitical supply risks.
Although prices briefly retreated Tuesday amid escalating US-Canada trade tensions and expectations of tighter US monetary policy, losses remained limited as continued US military operations against Iran kept geopolitical risk premiums elevated.
Oil prices accelerated again midweek, with Brent topping $95 per barrel. Iranian missile launches, fresh US strikes and threats by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis against shipping raised fears that the conflict could spread beyond the Strait of Hormuz to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
The upward momentum continued Thursday after Iran threatened to target energy infrastructure across the Middle East if US strikes persisted. Reports of an explosion involving an oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz and Houthi attacks on Saudi oil tankers further intensified supply disruption fears, outweighing bearish US inventory data showing an unexpected rise in crude stocks.
Brent briefly climbed above $100 per barrel on Thursday, its highest level since late May, before edging lower on Friday as investors weighed persistent geopolitical risks against expectations that tighter US monetary policy could weaken oil demand.
Despite Friday's pullback, the risk of disruptions to Middle Eastern oil exports remained the dominant market driver throughout the week, putting Brent on track for a third consecutive weekly gain.
By Humeyra Ayaz
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr
