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US Oil Update: Crude Rises as Iran Tanker Attacks in Hormuz Fuel Middle East Supply Fears

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Crude futures surged to multi-month highs in after-hours trading on Friday as escalating military hostilities in the Middle East and attacks on tankers threaten energy exports through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's key energy chokepoints.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained 1.1% to $84.50 per barrel, while Brent futures advanced 1.2% to $90.09/bbl.

Gelber & Associates strategists said that crude has extended its rally as fresh US strikes on Iranian military targets keep the geopolitical risk premium firmly in place near chokepoints like the Hormuz.

President Trump said on Friday that he's losing confidence in Iranian negotiators, signaling that the renewal of armed hostilities in the Middle East could drag on.

Speaking during a Cabinet meeting, Trump took issue with missile attacks that Iran launched earlier this week against US forces in Jordan that ended a multi-day pause in fighting.

"We just want to win... It's very simple: they cannot have a nuclear weapon," Trump told reporters during the meeting at Camp David.

Meanwhile, the Persian Gulf Strait Authority said on Friday that passage through the Strait remains unfeasible due to continued "aggressive actions" by US forces in the region.

The authority said requests for passage permits would be reviewed and issued gradually once stability is restored, without providing a timeline for when normal operations could resume.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps also said that it attacked two tankers as they tried to transit the Strait under US military escort, according to local media reports. Four other tankers turned back after the strikes.

Soojin Kim, research analyst at MUFG, said that though shipping via the strategic waterway has shown signs of improvement, security risks remain elevated as Saudi Arabia seeks to build an international coalition to protect the Red Sea following Houthi attacks.

Iran's army said it targeted US military facilities in Kuwait and Bahrain on Friday in response to the US attacks.

Tehran said it targeted aircraft shelters, satellite communication systems and equipment storage facilities used by the US military at Kuwait's Ahmad al-Jaber Air Base in a drone strike.

On Thursday, Iran's army also claimed to have attacked US facilities at Sheikh Isa Air Base in Bahrain, targeting power generators, navigation systems and support buildings.

Commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remained constrained as heightened military tensions, vessel inspections and security warnings pushed tanker operators to limit movements through the strategic waterway.

Erik Meyersson, chief EM strategist at SEB Research, said that the conflict has already spread geographically, and Iran's recent attacks have grown less reciprocal and increasingly assertive.

The latest data from MarineTraffic showed just five vessel crossings through the Hormuz on July 30, down from 22 a day earlier, marking a 77% decline.

MarineTraffic said that all five transits were recorded through Iran's unilateral passage arrangement, with no vessels recorded using the Strait's Traffic Separation Scheme or unidentified routing channels.

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