EMEA crude futures diverged in after-hours trading on Friday as the market weighed a shift in the US's strategy toward economic pressure and maintaining an indefinite blockade against Iran, as security risks in the Strait of Hormuz persist.
Brent crude futures gained 1% to $87.93 per barrel, while Murban crude futures retreated 2.3% to $88.02/bbl.
Gelber & Associates strategists said that prices found support after the US threatened to maintain its naval blockade of Iran indefinitely, while tanker attacks and reduced traffic through the Hormuz kept immediate supply risks elevated.
On Friday, Trump administration officials said that the US could maintain a naval blockade of Iran indefinitely, while vowing to impose further economic measures on Tehran, as efforts to revive a ceasefire and reopen the Strait have stalled.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington would announce additional measures next week, describing them as economic actions on a scale not previously seen, according to media reports. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the US military had the capacity to sustain its naval presence in the region indefinitely.
Saxo Bank strategists said the absence of fresh escalation around the still-closed Hormuz, combined with the previous week's very large US inventory build, has encouraged some profit-taking.
The remarks came after two vessels operated by the UAE's Adnoc Group were attacked while transiting the Hormuz on Thursday. The UAE blamed Iran for the attacks, which caused no casualties.
Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps said on Friday that the Strait remains closed, dismissing US claims about the level of maritime and oil traffic through the strategic waterway.
"The Strait of Hormuz is closed, and the reality must be seen in the field, not in the statements and remarks of US officials," said Rear Admiral Ali Ozamaei, the commander of the IRGC Navy, adding that Iranian forces maintain firm control over activity in the waterway.
Tensions around the Middle East energy chokepoints remain elevated on Aug. 1, though the number of confirmed crossings increased, with Hormuz recording 13 crossings, up 44% day on day, while Bab el-Mandeb traffic rose 4% to 29 crossings.
Meanwhile, two slicks have appeared in Iranian waters, as tit-for-tat attacks on oil tankers and other vessels by Iran and the US spark concern about environmental damage to the Gulf, according to multiple media reports.
UK-based maritime risk and response firm Ambrey said it has been hired to salvage a grounded Russian shadow fleet tanker off Oman's coast and to stop an oil spill that threatens wildlife, according to multiple media reports.
Though the threat to crude supplies has kept a floor under oil prices, concerns over global demand have capped the gains. OPEC slashed its global oil demand growth forecasts for the fourth straight month for 2026 on Wednesday, projecting demand to grow by 600,000 barrels per day year-over-year.
The International Energy Agency also expects global demand to contract in 2026 by 1.6 million b/d, steeper than the about 1 million b/d drop seen last month.