Oil benchmarks climbed on Friday headed for a weekly gain as a commercial tanker seizure in the Strait of Hormuz and the forced rerouting of 70 vessels by US Central Command raised Middle East shipping risks.
Front-month Murban crude futures rose by 1.5% to $106.31 per barrel, while Brent futures gained 2.2% to $108.09/bbl.
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 ongoing blockade is draining the world's backup oil supplies, overshadowing high-level statements from the Trump-Xi summit in Beijing.
"The two leaders discussed increase[d] 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 was reportedly forced into Iranian territorial waters, an incident that comes after 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 route earlier this week.
Adding to physical supply friction, the US Central Command confirmed it 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, analysts noted.