Oil prices rise with no sign of an end to Iran war

[LONDON] Oil prices rose on Friday (May 1) as efforts to resolve the Iran war remained at an impasse, with Teheran still blocking the Strait of Hormuz and the US Navy blocking exports of Iranian crude.

Brent crude futures for July were up US$0.89, or 0.8 per cent, at US$111.29 a barrel by 0808 GMT. West Texas Intermediate futures rose US$0.37, or 0.4 per cent, to US$105.44.

The Brent benchmark was poised for a 5.7 per cent gain over the week while WTI was on track to finish the week up 11.7 per cent. Brent’s June contract hit US$126.41 a barrel before its expiry on Thursday, marking the highest level since March 2022.

Oil prices have been on the rise since the US and Israel attacked Iran at the end of February, resulting in the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and disruption of shipments of about a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supply.

A ceasefire has been in place since Apr 8, but on Thursday evening Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said it was unreasonable to expect quick results from US talks, the official IRNA news agency reported. “Expecting to reach a result in a short time, regardless of who the mediator is, in my opinion, is not very realistic,” he was quoted as saying.

UAE presidential adviser Anwar Gargash said on Friday in a post on X that no unilateral Iranian arrangements can be trusted or relied upon regarding freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz after its “treacherous aggression” against its neighbours.

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A senior official of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards had threatened on Thursday “long and painful strikes” on US positions if Washington renewed attacks on Iran, pushing oil prices to intra-day peaks before retreating. US President Donald Trump was scheduled to receive a briefing on Thursday on plans for a series of fresh military strikes on Iran to compel it to negotiate an end to the conflict, a US official told Reuters. REUTERS