NEW DELHI: Oil prices gained more than 1 percent after President Donald Trump said he would not be much more patient with Iran and as concerns persisted over ship attacks and seizures despite Tehran saying about 30 vessels had passed through the Strait of Hormuz.
Brent crude oil futures rose $1.32, or 1.25 percent, to $107.04 a barrel by 7:25 a.m. Saudi time, while US West Texas Intermediate futures were up $1.33, or 1.31 percent, to $102.50.
For the week, Brent has climbed nearly 6 percent, while WTI has jumped more than 7 percent, on uncertainty over the shaky ceasefire in the Iran conflict.
“I am not going to be much more patient,” Trump said in an interview aired on Thursday night on Fox News. “They should make a deal.”
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on Friday morning that China was being very pragmatic about involvement with Iran, and it was important to China to have the Strait of Hormuz open, in an interview with Bloomberg.
Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping are set to meet on Friday to wrap up a two-day state visit that has featured pomp and business deals.
“With the Beijing summit not delivering any breakthrough on Iran, market focus is back on the deadlock and a blockaded Strait, with a tail risk of renewed military escalation,” said Vandana Hari, founder of oil market analysis provider Vanda Insights.
Among deals the market was looking out for from the summit, Trump said China wants to buy oil from the US.
In incidents around the Strait of Hormuz, a ship was reported seized by Iranian personnel off the UAE and headed for Iranian waters on Thursday, and an Indian cargo vessel carrying livestock from Africa to the UAE was sunk on Wednesday in waters off the coast of Oman.
The White House said Trump and Xi had agreed on the need to keep the shipping lane open.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said 30 vessels had crossed the Strait of Hormuz since Wednesday evening, still far short of 140 that were typical daily before the war, but a substantial increase if confirmed.
Yang An, analyst at Haitong Futures, said the main driver of oil prices was still tight supply.
“Oil prices swung several times yesterday but still closed near the day’s high,” he said.
“Ships passing through the strait eased some market concerns, but not enough to change the strong trend driven by tight supply.”
