Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude climbed more than $1 on Friday after US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the United States could end Iran’s oil exports as part of an effort to bring the Islamic Republic to terms over its nuclear program.
Brent crude futures settled at $64.76 a barrel, up $1.43, or 2.26 percent. US West Texas Intermediate crude finished at $61.50 a barrel, up $1.43 or 2.38 percent.
“Strict enforcement of restrictions on Iranian crude exports would reduce global supply,” said Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates. “I suspect China will continue to buy oil from Iran.”
Wright’s comments provided upward momentum for oil prices, following volatile price swings this week as US President Donald Trump’s new tariff regime forced traders to reassess the geopolitical risks facing the crude market.
“The US being a geopolitical risk is new for the market,” said John Kilduff, partner with Again Capital. “We’ll have this reordering of the chessboard like we did after Russia invaded Ukraine.”
China announced on Friday it will impose a 125 percent tariff on US goods, up from the previously announced 84 percent, after Trump raised tariffs against China to 145 percent on Thursday.
Trump this week paused heavy tariffs against dozens of other trading partners, but a prolonged dispute between the world’s two biggest economies is likely to reduce global trade volumes and disrupt trading routes, weighing on global economic growth and reducing demand for oil.
“Although the implementation of some tariffs, excluding those on China, was delayed by 90 days, the market damage had already been inflicted, leaving prices struggling to regain stability,” said Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank.
