Oil jumps 4.5% as US-Iran attacks threaten Hormuz and Red Sea
Why it matters: Brent ended at $88.10 and WTI at $82.49 after both benchmarks surged about 16% for the week.
Oil prices climbed more than 4% Friday, hitting their highest levels in more than a month as fighting between the United States and Iran intensified and raised fresh risks to tanker traffic through two key shipping lanes. Brent crude settled up $3.87 at $88.10 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate rose $3.54 to $82.49. Both benchmarks posted weekly gains of about 16%. The latest moves followed US strikes on bridges and an airport in Iran and Iranian attacks on infrastructure in Kuwait, along with threats to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and a possible Houthi-linked closure of the Red Sea route. Before the war, roughly 20% of global oil supply moved through Hormuz.