TLDR
- Brent crude climbed above $109 a barrel, up nearly 8% for the week
- The Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed, with tanker traffic far below normal
- Trump said he is “losing patience” with Iran and hinted at further military action
- The IEA warned global oil markets could stay “severely undersupplied” through October
- The Trump-Xi Beijing summit ended without a major concrete deal on trade or energy
Oil prices surged this week as the Strait of Hormuz stayed largely shut and diplomatic efforts to end the Iran conflict made little headway.
Brent crude climbed above $109 a barrel by Friday, up close to 8% on the week. West Texas Intermediate traded near $105. Both benchmarks posted their sharpest weekly gains in recent months.
The Strait of Hormuz is the world’s most important oil shipping lane. Around one-fifth of global oil supply normally flows through it.
Since hostilities began in late February, tanker traffic through the strait has dropped sharply. Flows of crude and fuels fell by almost 6 million barrels a day in the first quarter, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Iranian state media reported around 30 vessels crossed the waterway this week. But shipping traffic remains well below normal, and tanker operators are still reluctant to resume regular transit due to security risks.
Trading house Vitol Group is offering Iraqi crude — sourced outside Hormuz — to buyers. This suggests some cargoes have found alternative routes out of the region.
Trump Loses Patience With Iran
President Trump struck a hard tone on Iran Friday, posting on Truth Social that the “military decimation of Iran (to be continued!).” In a Fox News interview, he said: “I am not going to be much more patient. They should make a deal.”
🚨JUST NOW: TRUMP AND CHINESE PRESIDENT XI ON IRAN-
"We did discuss Iran. We feel very similar in Iran."
"We want that to end. We don't want them to have a nuclear weapon. We want the straits open."
"We discussed a lot of other things also, and I think we're very much in… pic.twitter.com/tutDUx2jDM
— Coin Bureau (@coinbureau) May 15, 2026
A ceasefire has been in place since early April, but there have been several flareups. Washington and Tehran appear far apart on any lasting resolution.
Trump recently described the truce as being on “massive life support.” Analysts say the gap between the two sides makes escalation more likely than a deal in the near term.
“The path of least resistance very near term for prices remains more to the bullish side as we continue to see crude oil and fuel inventories contract,” said Dennis Kissler, senior vice president at BOK Financial Securities.
The war has driven global oil inventories down at a record pace. The International Energy Agency said this week that markets could remain “severely undersupplied” through October, even if the conflict ends next month.
Trump-Xi Summit Ends Without Major Deal
President Trump met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing for a two-day summit. Talks covered the Iran war, energy security, and trade ties.
Both leaders agreed the Strait of Hormuz must stay open for global energy flows. Xi also expressed interest in buying more U.S. crude oil to reduce dependence on Gulf supplies.
Xi said China and the U.S. agreed to stabilize trade relations and strengthen communication on regional issues. Chinese state media said both sides reached “important consensus.”
However, no major concrete agreements came out of the summit. Trump said Xi liked the idea of purchasing more American oil, but China’s official readout did not include energy among the topics discussed.
Friday also saw a broad selloff in bond markets. Investors grew concerned that oil flows will not normalize quickly, which could push inflation higher.
Physical crude markets have tightened again in recent days, reflecting the wider strain on the global oil industry caused by the ongoing conflict.
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