Shafaq News
Oil prices gained more than 1% afterPresident Donald Trump said he would not be much more patient with Iran and asconcerns persisted over ship attacks and seizures despite Tehran saying about30 vessels had passed through the Strait of Hormuz.
Brent crude oil futures rose $1.32,or 1.25%, to $107.04 a barrel by 0425 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediatefutures were up $1.33, or 1.31%, to $102.50.
For the week, Brent has climbednearly 6%, while WTI has jumped more than 7%, on uncertainty over the shakyceasefire in the Iran conflict.
"I am not going to be much morepatient," Trump said in an interview aired on Thursday night on Fox News."They should make a deal."
U.S. Trade Representative JamiesonGreer said on Friday morning that China was being very pragmatic aboutinvolvement with Iran, and it was important to China to have the Strait ofHormuz open, in an interview with Bloomberg.
Trump and China's President XiJinping are set to meet on Friday to wrap up a two-day state visit that hasfeatured pomp and business deals.
"With the Beijing summit notdelivering any breakthrough on Iran, market focus is back on the deadlock anda blockaded Strait, with a tail risk of renewed military escalation," saidVandana Hari, founder of oil market analysis provider Vanda Insights.
Among deals the market was lookingout for from the summit, Trump said China wants to buy oil from the UnitedStates.
In incidents around the Strait ofHormuz, a ship was reported seized by Iranian personnel off the United ArabEmirates and headed for Iranian waters on Thursday, and an Indian cargovessel carrying livestock from Africa to the UAE was sunk on Wednesday inwaters off the coast of Oman.
The White House said Trump and Xihad agreed on the need to keep the shipping lane open.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said 30vessels had crossed the Strait of Hormuz since Wednesday evening, still farshort of 140 that were typical daily before the war, but a substantial increaseif confirmed.
Yang An, analyst at Haitong Futures,said the main driver of oil prices was still tight supply.
"Oil prices swung severaltimes yesterday but still closed near the day's high," he said.
"Ships passing through thestrait eased some market concerns, but not enough to change the strong trenddriven by tight supply."
Only the headline is edited by ShafaqNews.