Oil prices rose Friday after US President Donald Trump said Iran had allowed 10 oil tankers to pass through the Strait of Hormuz this week, in what he described as a goodwill gesture from Tehran amid heightened tensions over one of the world’s most important energy shipping routes.
Brent crude, the international benchmark, climbed 1.7 percent to $109.79 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate gained 1.8 percent to $96.18, reversing earlier losses as traders reacted to Trump’s remarks.
Speaking during a Cabinet meeting on Thursday, Trump said Iran had permitted the passage of tankers carrying oil through the strategic chokepoint, signaling what he portrayed as a tentative easing of tensions between Washington and Tehran.
“They said, ‘To show you the fact that we’re real and solid and we’re there, we’re going to let you have eight boats of oil,’” Trump said, according to comments reported by CNBC.
He added that the shipment later increased.
“They then apologized for something they said, and they said, ‘We’re going to send two more boats.’ And it ended up being 10 boats,” he said.
Trump described the move as “a present” from Iran, appearing to clarify earlier comments he made this week in which he said Tehran had offered the United States something linked to oil and gas, without elaborating at the time.
The remarks drew immediate attention in global energy markets, where investors have been closely tracking any sign of disruption or de-escalation in the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway between Iran and Oman through which a large share of the world’s seaborne crude oil passes.
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Any interruption to traffic in the strait has the potential to trigger sharp price spikes, given its central role in transporting oil from major Gulf producers to international markets.
Trump’s comments appeared to calm immediate fears that all flows through the route had been halted, with traders interpreting the tanker movements as evidence that at least some crude exports are still being allowed through.
But analysts warned that the broader market remains under pressure and vulnerable to renewed shocks, even if isolated cargoes continue to move.
“The oil market did not underreact to the disruption in the Strait of Hormuz; it absorbed it,” Paola Rodriguez-Masiu, chief oil analyst at Rystad Energy, was quoted as saying by CNBC.
“For nearly four weeks, markets have shown remarkable resilience, supported by a combination of pre-war surplus, crude-on-water, and policy barrels that provided a temporary buffer and kept prices contained. That phase is now ending,” she said.
Rystad estimated that nearly 17.8 million barrels per day of oil and fuel flows through the Strait of Hormuz have been disrupted, with close to 500 million barrels of total liquids lost so far.
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The consultancy said the global oil system has shifted from being relatively “buffered” to increasingly “fragile” after weeks of supply losses and inventory drawdowns, reducing the market’s ability to absorb any further disruption.
The latest price gains reflect both relief and uncertainty, traders said, as markets weigh the possibility of a partial easing in tensions against the continued risk of a broader supply crisis.
The Strait of Hormuz has long been a flashpoint in geopolitical confrontations involving Iran, the United States and Gulf Arab states, with past threats to shipping in the area sending shockwaves through global commodity markets.
For now, Trump’s remarks may offer temporary reassurance that some crude continues to flow.
However, analysts say the passage of a handful of tankers is unlikely to fundamentally change the broader supply picture unless it signals a more durable easing of hostilities.
With oil markets already strained and inventories thinning, traders are expected to remain highly sensitive to any fresh comments from Washington or Tehran in the coming days.
