Middle East developments spur slight gain in oil prices

Crude oil prices managed another small gain on Friday while Israel and Hezbollah agreed on a ceasefire in Lebanon while Iran created its own conditions for oil tankers and other ships passing through the vital Strait of Hormuz. At least four tankers loaded with crude and oil products entered the Strait on Friday headed to Iraqi Gulf ports.

On Sunday, Iranian negotiators walked out of peace talks with the US after Donald Trump said he would “blow the s— out of them” and take over their country. As JD Vance, his vice president, began negotiations in Switzerland, Mr. Trump threatened to restart his bombing campaign on Iran, in expletive-laden phone calls and posts on social media. Iran immediately lodged a formal complaint with Pakistani and Qatari mediators and left the talks.

Despite the slight gain, Brent crude fell nearly 8 % for the week.

Brent finished up 66 cents or 0.53% and closed at $80.38 a barrel early Friday afternoon, reaching $80 for the first time in a few days.

West Texas Intermediate crude closed up 94 cents or 1.23% at $77.54 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Despite the uptick in Gulf activity, however, Iran signaled tighter control over shipping, with state TV reporting that vessels must coordinate transit with the Revolutionary Guards navy. In an undated advisory circulated to the maritime industry in the last 24 hours and seen by Reuters, Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority said, “no vessel is permitted to pass through the Strait of Hormuz without a valid passage permit issued by the PGSA”.

Natural gas prices finished down on Friday, closing at $3.198 MMBtu with a drop of $0.035 or 1.08%.

Friday brought a day of mixed results for Oklahoma energy stocks. While Empire Petroleum Corp. rose more than 7%, LSB Industries slipped nearly 3%.

Alliance Resource Partners LP