The Greek-flagged crude oil tanker “Asahi Princess” is moored off the coast of the Syrian Banias port refinery on the Mediterranean Sea on April 15, 2026. Iraq has started exporting crude using tanker trucks through Syria, its oil ministry said, after an official said oil revenues last month fell more than 70 percent compared with February.
Bakr Alqasem | AFP | getty images
Oil prices rose on Friday as energy concerns grew due to conflict in the Middle East, with the US and Iran both seizing ships as the Strait of Hormuz remains closed.
International benchmark Brent crude rose more than 1.25% to $105.38 a barrel in Friday trading, while US West Texas Intermediate futures rose 1.14% to $96.96 a barrel.
Prices rose even as Israel and Lebanon agreed to extend their ceasefire after President Donald Trump said on Thursday a meeting with senior US officials at the White House. “The meeting was great!” Trump posted on Truth Social announcing the extension.
The ceasefire, initially set for 10 days, will now allow more time for diplomatic talks, with Washington pledging support to strengthen Lebanon’s security against Hezbollah.
US oil prices since the beginning of the year
While a ceasefire between the US and Iran remains in place, the conflict has devolved into a naval blockade keeping the vital Strait of Hormuz closed, as both attempt to gain economic leverage to secure a deal favorable to their interests.
“The longer the strait remains closed, the greater the economic cost – increasing the likelihood that one side will be forced to withdraw,” the Commonwealth Bank of Australia wrote in a note published Friday.
Before the war about 20 million barrels of oil and petroleum products were shipped daily through the strait.
“We estimate that the US will be the first to withdraw due to rising political and economic costs. But risks remain for a major military escalation, which would significantly increase the US dollar,” the analysts wrote.
“We are facing the greatest energy security threat in history,” Fatih Birol, head of the International Energy Agency, told CNBC on Thursday.
“To date, we’ve lost 13 million barrels of oil per day … and there are major disruptions to critical commodities,” he told Steve Sedgwick on CNBC’s virtual program. join live in Singapore.
Birol previously warned that an Iran war and closing the Strait of Hormuz would lead to “the biggest energy crisis ever” and urged governments to increase their resilience with alternative energy sources.
— CNBC’s Holly Elliott contributed to this report.
