Oil prices edged up slightly on Friday as the market focused on talks between the US and Iran in Oman and evaluated the possibility of a Middle East conflict that could disrupt supply.
Brent, the global benchmark for crude, settled 0.74 per cent higher at $68.05 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate, which tracks US crude, rose 0.41 per cent to $63.55 a barrel.
Negotiations between representatives of Washington and Tehran, mediated by Oman, took place on Friday. Officials indicated further talks would be needed, which kept investors jittery about geopolitical risks.
“Geopolitics remains the dominant driver. Oil prices rose ahead of planned US – Iran talks in Oman after Iranian media signalled there would be no quick resolution. Discussions are expected to focus on broad issues rather than technical details,” Vijay Valecha, chief investment officer at Century Financial, said.
“That has kept short-term supply risks elevated, even as markets continue to debate the likelihood of a diplomatic breakthrough.”
Escalated tension in the Middle East, which supplies about a third of the world’s crude, has added a geopolitical risk premium to benchmark oil prices. Investors have weighed the US-Iran standoff against the outlook for oversupply.
US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday imposing a 25 per cent tariff on imports from any country that “directly or indirectly” buys goods from Iran, hours after the first round of nuclear talks concluded in Oman.
The White House said the measure is intended to deter third countries from maintaining commercial ties with Iran, particularly in energy, metals and petrochemicals, sectors that remain key sources of revenue for the Iranian government.
The move came after Tehran described the high-stakes talks as “positive” and said there was “near-consensus” on continuing the dialogue in the coming days.
Also on Friday Bitcoin bounced from a sharp sell-off, while spot gold and silver prices regained some lost ground.
Bitcoin gained 10.79 per cent to $69,909.01. Ethereum climbed 10.88 per cent to $2,047.77.
In precious metals, gold rose 3.93 per cent to $4,957.39 an ounce. Silver was up 8.6 per cent, at $77.36 an ounce.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average crossed the 50,000 threshold for the first time on Friday as traders appeared to brush off concerns about spending on artificial intelligence.
The Dow surged 2.47 per cent – or 1,206 points – to close at 50,115.67, a record. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq also saw a snapback from this week's tech rout, rising 1.97 and 2.18 per cent, respectively.
Some of the biggest names in the technology industry led the charge. Chipmaker Nvidia rose 7.87 per cent at $185.41 a share, while Tesla and Palantir posted gains of 3.50 and 4.53 per cent, respectively.
