Oil prices rose on Friday morning over fears of renewed military escalation in the Middle East after Iran released footage of commandos boarding \u200ba cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz and on reports that Tehran\u2019s air \u200cdefences had engaged \u201chostile targets\u201d. Brent crude futures rose $1.23, or 1.17%, to $106.3 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate futures were up $1.07, or 1.12%, at $96.92. Both benchmark contracts settled up more than 3% on Thursday \u200band jumped $5 a barrel after reports that air defences were engaging targets over Tehran \u200band of a power struggle between Iran\u2019s hardliners and moderates. US President Donald \u2060Trump said that Iran may have loaded up its weaponry \u201ca little bit\u201d during the two-week \u200bceasefire, but added that the U.S. military could eliminate it in just a single day. The ceasefire \u200bphase is increasingly looking like a preparatory phase for war, Haitong Futures said in a report. If US-Iran talks fail to make key progress by the end of April and fighting resumes, oil prices could \u200bclimb to new highs for the year, it added. Iran on Thursday posted video of \u200bcommandos in a speedboat storming a huge cargo ship after the collapse of peace talks, underlining its grip over \u200cthe \u2060Strait of Hormuz through which 20% of global oil and gas usually flows. As investors and governments around the world look for an enduring peace, Trump said he would not set a \u201ctimetable\u201d for ending the conflict with Iran and that he wanted to make \u201ca great deal.\u201d \u201cDon\u2019t rush \u200bme,\u201d he said when \u200basked how long \u2060he was willing to wait for a long-term peace deal with Iran. Prolonged disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz could push global crude and \u200brefined-product inventories below five-year seasonal lows by late May or early \u200bJune, adding \u2060a supply-risk premium back into oil prices, said Mingyu Gao, chief researcher for energy and chemicals at China Futures. Trump also announced in a social media post on Thursday that Israel and Lebanon \u2060had \u200bagreed to extend their ceasefire by three weeks after a \u200bhigh-level meeting between representatives of both countries in the White House Oval Office. Before that announcement, Israel warned that it \u200bwas ready to restart attacks on Iran.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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