U.S.-Iran Tensions Push Oil Prices Near $96

Oil prices surged on Friday and were on track for their strongest weekly gain since mid-July as tensions between the United States and Iran intensified. Brent crude rose 0.4% to $95.90 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate gained 0.7% to $91.90 a barrel. The latest gains put Brent on course for a weekly rise of around 7%, while WTI was headed for a nearly 10% increase, marking the biggest weekly advances for both benchmarks since July 20.

The conflict between Washington and Tehran has been escalating over the past month, with U.S. attacks killing and wounding dozens of people, including Iranian civilians. The Strait of Hormuz remains one of the biggest risks for the global oil market, with shipping traffic through the strategic waterway declining to six vessels on Wednesday, down from 11 a day earlier and below the 10-day average of around 13 vessels.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin said there remained a possibility of reaching an agreement to end the war in Ukraine, which could reduce concerns over Russian energy supply disruptions. Iraqi oil exports rose to around 2.34 million barrels per day in August, from about 1.35 million bpd in July, while September shipments are also expected to increase.

The surge in oil prices is particularly important for India, one of the world's largest crude importers, as a prolonged period of elevated crude could increase the country's import bill and widen its trade deficit.