Brent crude rose 2.4% on Friday to settle at its highest level since the end of April, as an attack on a tanker in the Strait of Hormuz and the risk of a wider Iran war kept supply concerns in focus, Reuters reported.
Brent futures for December, which expired on Friday, settled up $2.76 at $117.64 a barrel after touching $118. The more active January contract gained $2.63 to $113.43.
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude settled $2.12, or 2.08%, higher at $104.12 a barrel.
Brent ended October 13.6% higher, its fourth straight monthly gain. WTI rose 15.2% over the month.
A tanker in the Strait of Hormuz was hit on Friday by explosive devices attached by a small boat, the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said. It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack.
Maritime sources said it was the first known successful strike in the waterway using limpet mines since the US-Israeli war with Iran began in February. The strait is the main sea outlet for Gulf crude and fuel exports.
The US embassy in Riyadh said on Friday that non-emergency US government employees and their families had been ordered to leave Saudi Arabia, citing Houthi attacks on civilian airports and other critical infrastructure.
Yemen’s Houthis said on Thursday they had attacked several sites in Saudi Arabia, including the Ras Tanura and Rabigh refineries and a Saudi Aramco production facility in Abqaiq. The Saudi-led coalition said it had intercepted a cruise missile launched by the Houthis toward the kingdom’s western region.
Qatari mediators returned to Tehran on Friday as part of efforts to reach a deal between the United States and Iran, an official briefed on the talks said.
“Traders will remain focused on oil flows out of the Middle East and the likely escalation by US and allied forces,” said Dennis Kissler, senior vice president of trading at BOK Financial.
Saxo Bank said in a briefing on Thursday that it expects crude to trade in a range of $70 to $90 a barrel even after the conflict ends, compared with a pre-war range of $60 to $70. The bank said prices could become more volatile around the US midterm elections on November 3.
