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EMEA Oil Update: Oil Gains 1% as IRGC Strikes Tankers in Strait of Hormuz

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Crude oil prices gained 1% on Friday, but were headed for a weekly losses as the market assessed energy flows via the Strait of Hormuz after reports of multiple tankers being forced to turn around.

Brent futures contracts added 1.5% to $90.39 per barrel. The front month Murban futures contract for the month of October edged up 0.9% to $85.23/bbl. However, both contracts were headed for weekly losses of more than 5% each.

Saxo Bank analysts noted that crude prices consolidated ahead of the weekend, following Donald Trump's announcement of a prospective deal for the full disarmament of Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza, which would place the territory under a new Palestinian government.

Supply concerns intensified after the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps reportedly said it struck two oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz for using an unauthorized transit route, adding that four other tankers quickly turned back.

On Thursday, the Saudi defense ministry reported that over 40 nations convened to discuss strengthening maritime defense cooperation to secure critical sea lanes, a move precipitated by Houthi declarations of a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia and persistent Iranian attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.

On the regulatory front, the US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned six entities and individuals across China, India, Russia, and Iran for supporting Mahan Air and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Physical supply disruption also added volatility to markets.

Global middle distillate margins climbed to fresh highs after renewed Middle East conflicts tightened diesel availability heading into winter, according to Vortexa analyst Pamela Munger.

Simultaneously, the Caspian Pipeline Consortium suspended oil loadings at its Black Sea export terminal on Thursday following Ukrainian drone strikes targeting a vessel loading at the facility.

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