Brent crude futures climbed 1.1% to $97.36 a barrel, extending an 8% weekly gain, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate rose 1.1% to $92.46, up nearly 10% over the prior week.
U.S. forces struck and disabled three Iranian oil tankers over the weekend, saying the action was retaliation for an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps ballistic‑missile attack on two U.S. Navy warships in the Strait of Hormuz.
Traffic through the strait dropped sharply, with only two vessels transiting on Saturday and six on Sunday – the lowest daily count since May. The 10‑day moving average fell to ten vessels, far below the pre‑conflict level of roughly 125 large commodity ships per day, which had accounted for about one‑fifth of global tanker traffic.
OPEC+ met on Sunday and announced that it will keep oil production steady in October, pausing a six‑month sequence of output increases.
ING analysts noted that the oil market remains well‑supported despite the escalation, adding that oil continues to flow even as diplomatic tensions persist.
