RoydadNaft –  Brent crude oil futures rose $1.43, or 1.64%, to $88.50 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained $1.56, or 1.92%, to $82.81 a barrel.

According to Roydad Naft, oil prices climbed on Friday and were on track for a weekly gain. The rise followed a U.S. threat to impose an indefinite naval blockade on Iran, heightening concerns over potential disruptions to crude oil supplies from the Middle East.

At 08:10 GMT, Brent futures were up $1.43, or 1.64%, at $88.50 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures traded $1.56 higher, or 1.92%, at $82.81 a barrel.

Bjarne Schieldrop of SEB Research said: “Higher oil prices are a natural result of the new U.S. approach, which points to a significant extension of problems in the Middle East with little hope of a near-term resolution.”

On Thursday, the United States warned that it may continue a naval blockade of Iran indefinitely to increase economic pressure on Tehran, as ceasefire talks remain deadlocked.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Newsmax’s “Rob Schmitt Tonight” program: “Expect more announcements next week, because we want to impose measures that have no precedent in the history of economic isolation of any country.”

Schieldrop added: “A return to normal flows through the Strait of Hormuz is now suddenly without any short-term hope.”

The new U.S. threats come as Iran has restricted transit through the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway that handled about one-fifth of the world’s daily oil and liquefied natural gas supplies before the conflict began in late February.

Shipping traffic in the strait fell below the monthly average late in the week, with both countries making competing claims of control over the waterway.

The UAE state news agency WAM reported that two vessels belonging to the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company were attacked on Thursday while transiting the strait—an incident the UAE government condemned as an Iranian attack.

Meanwhile, forecasts from OPEC and the International Energy Agency pointed to weaker demand growth, while U.S. crude inventories recorded their largest weekly build in more than three and a half years.

Norbert Rücker, Head of Economics and Next Generation Research at Julius Baer, said: “This week’s reports from the International Energy Agency and the U.S. Energy Information Administration were very revealing. Inventories have held up much better than feared, and that should put downward pressure on oil prices.”