The United States said on Friday that its naval blockade of Iranian ports can be held in place indefinitely, and crude finished the week close to 6 per cent higher.
Brent was trading at $87.97 a barrel on Friday, up 1.03 per cent on the session. West Texas Intermediate was at $82.56, up 1.62 per cent. Both benchmarks gained about 6 per cent across the week.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said the navy would keep the blockade up by cycling ships through it. "Indefinitely, the United States Navy can maintain a blockade like that because we'll rotate ships in and out, as we have, and we'll continue to," he said.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington would announce further economic measures in the coming week. "We are going to apply measures like have never been seen in the history of economic isolation on a country," he said.
Oil moving through the Strait of Hormuz averaged 4.9 million barrels a day in the June quarter. In the last quarter of 2025 it was 21.6 million barrels a day.
Iran's foreign ministry has said the United States must lift its blockade before Tehran will fully reopen the strait. Iran's parliament is working through a bill that would bar ships linked to the United States, Israel and other countries it designates as hostile from transiting, and charge everyone else a toll. The Trump administration has rejected that plan.
Abu Dhabi National Oil Company said two of its vessels were attacked while transiting the strait this week. The United Arab Emirates blamed Iran. No group has claimed the attacks, and ADNOC reported a similar attack on one of its tankers the previous weekend.
The International Energy Agency has cut its 2026 global oil supply forecast by 4.3 million barrels a day. OPEC lowered its 2026 demand growth forecast to 580,000 barrels a day, the fourth time in a row it has revised that number down.
“The war of words between Washington and Tehran leaves no clear path towards reopening the Strait of Hormuz," said Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank.”
The cost lands in Australia through the bowser. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission published the 23rd report in its weekly fuel price monitoring series on Friday, covering movements to 12 August, ten days after the full restoration of the fuel excise. It found increases in average retail petrol and diesel prices in most locations had been smaller than the excise change itself.
The strait has not reopened. Tehran wants the blockade lifted first, Hegseth has said the blockade can stay as long as it needs to, and Bessent's next round of measures is due within the week.
