Oil
Brent crude oil climbed more than $1 a barrel on Friday amid uncertainty over negotiations to determine control of and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key global shipping artery.
Brent crude futures settled at $83.55 a barrel, and US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude finished at $78.18 a barrel. For the week, Brent fell 7.3%, while WTI fell 7.7%.
Meanwhile, both Iran and Oman are reported to have agreed on the route ships would take through the strait, which lies between their two countries. It is unclear if the US will agree to these terms.
Iran is seeking fees of between 5% and 7% of the price of cargoes from ships using the strait, a senior Iranian official said. Oman, meanwhile, is discussing fees of about 3% while Washington wants no fees at all.
Gas
Asia spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices slipped this week but held near a four-month high, as the US-Iran war kept supply and shipping risks in focus while buying interest from South Asia offset muted demand from Japan and China.
The average LNG price for September delivery into northeast Asia was $20.40 per million British thermal units, down from $21.35 per mmBtu the week before.
Much of the spot flexibility comes from US contract volumes that Chinese and Japanese buyers are reselling rather than lifting.
In Europe, the Dutch TTF gas price settled at $18.70 per mmBtu, posting a weekly loss of 5.1%. Meanwhile, northwest European LNG prices softened as geopolitical risk premiums eased, following reports that US President Trump announced plans for talks with Iran.
This article was supplied by the Abdullah bin Hamad Al-Attiyah International Foundation for Energy and Sustainable Development.
