NEW YORK / RankWire.AI / – Oil prices advanced more than 4% on Friday as Brent crude closed above $88 per barrel. Brent futures increased by $3.87, or 4.59%, finishing at $88.10. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) gained $3.54, or 4.48%, ending at $82.49. Both benchmarks reached their highest closing levels since mid-June. Brent saw approximately a 16% rise over the week and marked its third consecutive weekly increase. WTI experienced a similar weekly rise, extending its winning streak to two weeks.
Market activity mirrored a sharp decline in commercial vessel traffic passing through the Strait of Hormuz. This route is a key conduit for a significant portion of global oil and gas exports. On Thursday, only three commodity vessels traversed the waterway, the lowest daily total since May. The previous day, eleven vessels crossed the strait. Prior to recent conflicts, the daily average was nearly 125 crossings. No very large crude carriers or liquefied natural gas tankers crossed for the second straight day, constraining the movement of vital energy cargoes from Gulf ports.
Oil markets also monitored disruptions at several regional shipping hubs. Iraq temporarily halted crude loadings at the Basra terminal after a drone attack on a tanker. Operations later resumed at the facility. Earlier this week, two large crude carriers, each capable of carrying about 2 million barrels, were observed outside Hormuz after departing the Gulf. The drop in shipping activity coincided with the biggest one-day increases in crude futures during the week. Energy prices broadly rose across international markets during Friday’s trading session.
Hormuz slowdown restricts regional oil flows
The International Energy Agency reported that Gulf oil exports increased by 6.5 million barrels per day in June, reaching a total of 16.1 million barrels daily. Despite this increase, exports remained significantly below the pre-conflict level of 24 million barrels per day. The rise was mainly driven by crude oil and condensate. Gulf production also grew by 3.5 million barrels daily but still lagged 11.4 million barrels below earlier levels, indicating that both production and exports had yet to recover fully.
The International Energy Agency also recorded a 21 million barrel increase in global oil inventories during June, marking the first monthly rise in four months. Seaborne oil inventories grew by 117 million barrels, whereas onshore stocks decreased by about 96 million. Government releases accounted for 44 million barrels of that decline. Exports of refined products and liquefied petroleum gas from the Gulf remained below half of their pre-conflict levels, while crude shipments recovered to nearly three-quarters of their previous volume.
Weekly surge boosts worldwide crude benchmarks
The U.S. Energy Information Administration noted that Brent spot prices averaged $85 a barrel in June, representing a $22 decline from May. Prices fell below $70 on July 1 but rebounded during the first half of July. The agency estimated that global oil inventories shrank by 5.1 million barrels per day in the second quarter, with average production shutdowns at 8.3 million barrels daily in June. These outages peaked at 11.2 million barrels a day in May.
Friday’s close positioned Brent at $12.09 above its July 10 settlement of $76.01. WTI closed $11.08 higher than its previous week’s close of $71.41. These increases corresponded to weekly gains of approximately 15.9% for Brent and 15.5% for WTI. Energy stocks were the only major U.S. sector to finish higher on Friday. Both crude contracts settled near their session highs, capping a week characterized by significant price rallies, reduced tanker traffic, and ongoing restrictions on Gulf energy exports.