Oil prices set for weekly gain as US-Iran hostilities intensify

Brent crude eased 47 cents to $95.05 a barrel on Friday, but the benchmark still ended the week 6.5% higher, according to The Express Tribune. US West Texas Intermediate fell 64 cents to $90.66, although it gained 8.8% over the same five days. Traders are pricing in more risk as hostilities between Washington and Tehran intensify and supply worries around the Middle East grow.

The newest American strikes left dozens dead or injured, among them Iranian civilians, and marked the most intense confrontation between the two nations since July. The conflict, which started in February with joint American and Israeli attacks, has entered its seventh month. Israel's defence minister, Israel Katz, repeated threats to damage Iran's armed forces and civilian facilities, including energy sites, while three senior Iranian sources said Washington's effort to squeeze the economy through an oil export blockade is getting harder to sustain.

Only four commodity vessels crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, down from nine a day earlier. Iraq's August crude shipments rose to roughly 2.34 million barrels a day, compared with 1.35 million in July, two energy officials said. Citi raised its third-quarter Brent forecast to $86 per barrel, up from $80, while ANZ lifted its short-term view to $95 a barrel. US diesel prices also reached record highs.