Oil prices went up on Friday because people are worried about the Strait of Hormuz. Iran and Oman are talking about not letting certain ships go through the strait. They want to fine ships that do not follow the rules.
Brent crude futures went up by 80 cents to $83.29 a barrel. This is a 0.97% increase. US West Texas Intermediate futures also went up by 64 cents to $77.93. This is a 0.83% increase.
On Thursday oil prices went up by over $3 a barrel. This happened because Iran is thinking about banning US and Israeli ships from the Strait of Hormuz. A lot of the world’s oil and gas goes through this strait.
Earlier in the week oil prices went down because it seemed like the fighting between Iran and the US might be ending. On Thursday Brent oil prices went above $80 a barrel again. This is the time it has been above $80 since July 13. Both types of oil are likely to end the week with a loss of 8%.
Analysts think that the things that happened this week show that Iran and the US are still fighting. Oil prices are going up because of this. The Strait of Hormuz and oil prices are still a concern. Iran and the US are still not. This is affecting oil prices.
The main reason for the change is that oil prices are reacting to Irans plan for the Strait of Hormuz. This plan would not let vessels from the United States and Israel pass through. It would make other countries that Iran does not like pay a fee before they can pass through. Lin Ye, who is the vice president of oil at Rystad Energy said this.
Lin Ye said that the market is not thinking that a bad deal will happen it is thinking that whatever happens will be controlled and not a normal situation.
An Iranian lawmaker said that a group of lawmakers is looking at a bill that would ban vessels from the United States, Israel and other countries that Iran does not like from the Strait of Hormuz. If vessels break this rule they would have to pay a fine, which would be up to 20 percent of the value of the things they are carrying according to Fars news agency. Oil prices are still reacting to Iran’s plan for the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran wants to charge ships that use the strait a fee. This fee would be between 5% and 7% of what the cargo on the ship’s worth. Iran is a country that wants this fee.
Oman is talking about charging a fee but they think 3% is a better idea. The United States does not want any fees all.
Some people who know about this stuff say that making a deal will not be easy. Iran is the country that has the strait and the United States has rules that make it hard to pay fees. Insurance companies also have rules that make it hard to pay fees.
Four people who work in the industry said this. They think the deal is not going to work because of these rules.
Vandana Hari is the founder of Vanda Insights. Vanda Insights is a company that looks at the oil market. Vandana Hari said that people are very excited about a deal between Iran and Oman. Iran and Oman are countries that might make a deal.. Nobody knows what needs to happen for the deal to really happen.
Something else is happening in Yemen. Yemen is a country. The Houthis are a group, in Yemen. They said they used missiles and drones to attack some places in Yemen. These places are called Marib and Hadramout. They did this on Thursday.
US President Donald Trump talked to reporters on Thursday. He said he thinks the war will be soon. The war is something that is happening in the area. US President Donald Trump is the leader of the United States.
