Crude futures were mixed Friday as a lack of progress toward US-Iran talks kept traders cautious, even as oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz showed tentative signs of recovery.
Murban oil futures climbed 1.09% to $94.04 per barrel, while Brent crude futures fell 0.41% to $89.33/bbl.
Brent crude held near $90/bbl after the US said it was not negotiating with Iran and would maintain its blockade of Iranian ports, Saxo Bank said.
White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly reiterated Friday that no talks with Iran were scheduled, according to reports.
Washington also moved to tighten financial pressure on Tehran Friday.
The US Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network proposed a rule to revoke Banque Misr UAE's correspondent banking access to US financial institutions as part of Operation Economic Outcast.
"Treasury promised to sever every economic lifeline Tehran has left and finally end the threat of the Iranian regime," said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control also sanctioned the manager of Bank Melli's Dubai branch, along with a Hong Kong-based front company that helped launder funds for a sanctioned Iranian exchange house.
Persian Gulf producers have increased crude exports as flows through the Strait of Hormuz recover, with Goldman Sachs estimating volumes at about two-thirds of pre-war levels, according to Saxo Bank.
ING Research analysts pegged average oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz at 5 million barrels per day, although some estimates now put volumes as high as 6-8 million b/d.
More producers appear to be using tanker shuttle operations and ship-to-ship transfers to move crude through the waterway as they adapt to the conflict, ING said.
US naval escorts have helped support exports through the Strait of Hormuz, according to RBC Capital Markets.
RBC estimated exports from within Hormuz were about 1 million b/d above the four-week average last week, though losses from Yanbu, linked to ongoing Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, have limited the overall increase.
About 8 million b/d of Middle Eastern exports remain disrupted, RBC said.
However, flows through the strait remain far below normal, according to Gelber and Associates.
"Strait throughput remains near 5% of its prewar baseline, and it had a brief daily rebound that is yet to develop into a sustained recovery," Gelber and Associates said in a Friday note.
With US-Iran negotiations stalled and traffic still severely constrained, the decline reflects growing confidence in those alternative routes rather than a genuine normalization of Gulf flows, G&A said. Flows are improving through workarounds, but the waterway has not normalized, and the geopolitical situation remains unresolved.
They added that stronger Saudi loadings and Iraq's offer to transfer crude outside the Persian Gulf indicate that regional producers are finding ways to move supply without relying on normal passage through the strait.