Oil Prices Skyrocket on Tanker Attacks and Stalled US-Iran Peace Talks

Crude oil futures rose over $1 per barrel on Friday due to tanker attacks and stalled peace negotiations between the US and Iran.

The price of Brent crude settled at $88.52 per barrel, up $1.45 or 1.67%, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude finished at $82.40, up $1.15 or 1.42%.

Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates, attributed the rally to new attacks on tankers and a lack of progress on a cease-fire agreement.

Lipow warned that if traffic in the Strait of Hormuz remains constrained, 'a day of reckoning' may come, as 20% of global supply passes through this channel.