Oil prices moved higher on Friday as intensified attacks along key Middle East shipping corridors and strikes on energy facilities pushed both major benchmarks toward a weekly close above $100 a barrel. By 0045 GMT, Brent crude futures were trading at $108.68 a barrel, up $1.05 or 1%. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose 95 cents, also 1%, to $103.45 a barrel.
Both contracts had advanced more than 6% on Thursday, and were at levels nearly 13% higher on the week - the strongest weekly percentage gain since the week ended July 17. If sustained, the move would mark the first close above $100 for both benchmarks since mid-May.
Market attention has focused on a series of attacks and seizures affecting maritime traffic and regional energy infrastructure. Iran-aligned Houthi forces said they seized control of Yemen’s port of Mocha on Thursday, a development market participants view as a further threat to Red Sea navigation. Meanwhile, tanker attacks in the Gulf have restricted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz in recent days.
Analysts noted that recent strikes originating from Yemen, which have targeted Saudi energy facilities, represent an escalation beyond the previous focus on Iran and the Strait of Hormuz. Those developments have heightened concerns about the potential for prolonged disruptions to crude flows across a wide area of the Middle East.
Adding to market unease, Iran said it had attacked 10 ships near the Strait after the U.S. struck five Iranian oil tankers. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps stated it would escalate its response to any further attacks.
Political statements have also featured in market commentary. U.S. President Donald Trump warned the U.S. may hit Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain, located near the heavily damaged Natanz uranium enrichment facility, and said the war would end after the November midterm elections.
Market strategists linked the widening of the conflict to higher price trajectories. "With events spiralling and Iran showing it is willing to stretch this conflict as wide and as long as it can, it is becoming increasingly likely that WTI crude will retest the $119.48 high from early March," IG analyst Tony Sycamore said.
Supply-side strains are already apparent in refined fuel markets. The U.S. national average price of diesel surpassed $6 a gallon for the first time ever on Thursday, according to price tracker GasBuddy, a move that market reports attributed to the combined impact of the U.S.-Iran war and attacks on Russian refineries in Ukraine.
Analysts highlighted a key demand-side uncertainty that will influence how durable the rally proves to be: China’s buying behavior. As the world’s largest crude importer, sustained purchases by China could amplify the market impact of supply disruptions and push prices higher.
On the supply forecasting front, OPEC trimmed its projection for world oil demand growth in 2026 to 380,000 barrels per day, according to a copy of its monthly report, marking the fifth consecutive downward revision. Separately, a Reuters survey found OPEC oil output fell by 640,000 bpd in August.
Bottom line: Aggressive attacks on shipping lanes and energy infrastructure across the Middle East have driven sharp weekly gains in crude benchmarks, with both Brent and WTI poised to finish the week above $100 a barrel as markets weigh the risk of sustained supply disruptions against demand-side developments, particularly China’s purchasing.