Brent rises late, settling higher with weekly gains on Iran-US jitters

Brent crude oil prices rose Friday amid late-day short covering as investors worried about U.S. military action while President Donald Trump put pressure on the Islamic Republic to halt its development of nuclear weapons. Brent crude futures settled at $71.76 a barrel, up 10 cents, 0.14%. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude ended at $66.39 a barrel, down 4 cents, 0.06%. Brent and WTI were down for most of Friday as the market waited for developments in the Iran-US battle. “We are caught between anticipating what will happen with the US and Iran and denying that an attack will happen,” said Phil Flynn, senior analyst at Price Futures Group.

The oil market has shrugged off a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that found Trump used a law to impose tariffs in national emergencies, Flynn said.“The tariff decision didn’t seem to move us too much,” he said. “I think there is a sense that the tariffs will be implemented in a different way.” During the week, Brent ⁠and WTI ‌both rose by more than 5%.

Trump said this week that “bad things” would happen to Iran if there was no deal to end the Islamic Republic’s development of nuclear weapons.

Iran’s foreign minister said Friday he expected to have a draft counterproposal ready within days of this week’s nuclear talks, as Trump said he was considering limited military strikes.

BETTING ON HIGHER PRICES

Iran, a major oil producer, lies across the Strait of Hormuz from the oil-rich Arabian Peninsula, through which about 20% of global oil supplies pass. Conflicts in the area could limit oil’s access to global markets and drive up prices.

“We are waiting for a possible binary outcome, if Trump’s words are to be taken at face value,” said Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank. “The market is nervous, it will be a wait and see day.”

Traders and investors have stepped up their purchases of call options on Brent crude oil in recent days, betting on higher prices, Saxo Bank analysis shows.

Also supporting oil were reports of falling crude inventories and limited exports in the world’s largest oil producing and exporting countries.

U.S. crude inventories fell by 9 million barrels as refining use and exports rose, a report from the Energy Information Administration showed on Thursday. Markets also factored in the impact of ample supply, with OPEC+ talks leaning towards a resumption of oil production increases from April.

The oil glut evident in the second half of 2025 continued in January and is likely to persist, JP Morgan analysts Natasha Kaneva and Lyuba Savinova said in a note.

“Our balance sheets continue to forecast significant surpluses later this year,” they said, adding that a production cut of 2 million barrels per day would be needed to avoid excess inventory build-up in 2027.