Oil Prices Firm on Strait of Hormuz Concerns Amid Hostility Lingers

Oil prices rose on Friday as concerns over plans to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and potential Iranian fines on vessels continued to weigh on markets.

The Brent crude futures price was up $0.75, or 0.9%, at $83.24 a barrel by 0815 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures rose $0.42, or 0.5%, to $77.71.

Analysts said that this week's developments have signalled that hostilities between Iran and the U.S. are not yet over, with oil prices reacting to Iran's published draft plan for Hormuz transit conditions.

Rystad Energy analyst Lin Ye said 'That's not the market pricing in a bad deal, it's pricing in confirmation that whatever emerges is a managed/conditional corridor, not a restoration of normal flow.'