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EMEA Oil Update: Brent Gains Over 1% Amid Escalating Gulf Shipping Incidents

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Brent crude prices gained over 1% on Friday after a fresh tanker seizure in the Strait of Hormuz and the imminent expiry of India's Russian oil waiver stoked fears of a deepening global supply crunch.

The Brent futures contract gained 1.6% to $107.36 per barrel. Murban futures closed at $104.70 on May 14 and was not trading as of the time of publishing this oil price update.

The price gains reflect a market reacting to immediate shipping threats in the Middle East alongside tightening alternative options for Asian refiners, analysts noted.

The geopolitical gridlock continues to severely erode global safety buffers, overshadowing high-level statements from the Trump-Xi summit in Beijing.

"The two leaders discussed increase oil trade, and both agreed that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon," ANZ analysts said.

However, the market mood soured rapidly after a UK naval monitoring group reported that a commercial vessel was boarded and seized by unauthorized personnel at the entrance of the Strait of Hormuz.

The captured tanker is reportedly currently being forced into Iranian territorial waters, an incident that closely follows the confirmed sinking of an Indian merchant ship in the nearby Gulf of Oman.

These severe security disruptions occurred even as four tankers carrying 2 million barrels of primarily Iraqi crude successfully braved the high-risk transit routes earlier this week.

Adding to the physical supply friction, the US Central Command confirmed it has actively rerouted 70 commercial vessels as part of its ongoing naval blockade of Iranian ports.

This aggressive enforcement coincides with growing anxiety among major Asian energy buyers, particularly in India, where a US sanctions waiver on Russian oil-on-water cargoes is scheduled to expire this weekend.

While Indian refiners have imported bumper volumes of discounted Russian crude under the temporary exemption, Washington has yet to grant New Delhi's formal request for an extension.

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