Oil prices edged higher on Friday on further concerns surrounding the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and potential Iranian bans and fines on vessels it deems hostile or in violation of proposed rules.
Brent crude futures were up 75 cents, or 0.9 per cent, at $83.24 a barrel by 0815 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate futures rose 42 cents, or 0.5 per cent, to $77.71.
Oil futures settled more than $3 a barrel higher on Thursday as Iran reviewed a bill to ban US and Israeli vessels from the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas normally passed before the war began at the end of February.
Prices fell earlier in the week as a possible solution to the conflict looked more likely, and both benchmarks were on course for a weekly loss of about 8 per cent.
