Oil Prices Head for 4% Weekly Gain as U.S.-Iran Deadlock Drags On

Crude oil prices were on course to add 4% this week, as the United States and Iran indicated they are no closer to a peace deal than they were at the start of the war. At the time of writing, Brent crude was trading at $87.12 per barrel, and West Texas Intermediate was trading at $81.36 per barrel. The rise of both benchmarks was driven by low tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, which remains at a fraction of pre-war levels, and the United States' threat to keep its naval blockade of Iran in place “indefinitely” and exert…