Crude oil prices were on track Friday to record their strongest weekly increase since the extreme market volatility seen during the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020. The surge comes as escalating conflict in the Middle East continues to disrupt global energy flows, with shipping and oil exports through the critical Strait of Hormuz effectively halted.
Brent crude futures have climbed roughly 24% this week, marking their largest weekly jump since May 2020, when a historic OPEC+ production cut helped oil markets recover from pandemic-era lows. Meanwhile, U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) has risen nearly 30%, its biggest weekly gain since April 2020.
The rally continued on Friday, with Brent crude advancing $4.59, or 5.4%, to reach $90 per barrel at 13:53 GMT. WTI crude also moved sharply higher, gaining $6.45, or 8%, to trade at $87.46 per barrel.
Could Oil Reach $150 Per Barrel?
Concerns about a potential supply shock intensified after Qatar’s energy minister told the Financial Times that all Gulf energy exporters may be forced to halt shipments within weeks. According to the interview published Friday, such a scenario could push oil prices as high as $150 per barrel.
Oil prices began their steep rally after the United States and Israel launched military strikes on Iran last Saturday. In response, Tehran blocked tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the most critical energy transit routes in the world.
Approximately 20% of global oil supply normally moves through the Strait each day. With the waterway effectively closed for seven consecutive days, an estimated 140 million barrels of oil — equivalent to roughly 1.4 days of global demand — have been unable to reach international markets.
The conflict has also spread across key energy-producing regions in the Middle East, leading to production disruptions and temporary shutdowns of refineries and liquefied natural gas facilities.
Commodity analysts warn that continued disruptions could push oil prices even higher. Giovanni Staunovo, a commodities analyst at UBS, said markets initially expected the United States to de-escalate the situation to avoid rising energy costs. However, the longer the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, the greater the risk to global supply.
U.S. President Donald Trump told Reuters in an exclusive interview Thursday that he is not concerned about rising gasoline prices in the United States linked to the conflict. He stated that if fuel prices increase, the U.S. military operation remains his top priority.
A White House official indicated that the U.S. Treasury Department may soon introduce measures aimed at limiting the rise in energy prices caused by the conflict. The possibility of such action briefly pushed oil prices down by more than 1% earlier on Friday.
However, losses were later reduced after Bloomberg reported that the Trump administration had decided not to use the Treasury Department to trade oil futures at this stage.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Treasury granted waivers on Thursday allowing companies to purchase sanctioned Russian oil stored on tankers, a move designed to ease supply shortages that have forced several Asian refineries to scale back fuel processing.
The first waivers were issued to Indian refiners, who have since purchased millions of barrels of Russian crude. This marks a reversal from months of pressure to suspend such purchases.
According to ship-tracking firm Kpler, around 30 million barrels of Russian oil are currently available on vessels across the Indian Ocean, the Arabian Sea, and the Singapore Strait, including significant volumes being held in floating storage.
oil prices, crude oil, brent crude, wti oil, middle east conflict, strait of hormuz, global oil supply
