Oil near 6-mth high amid US-Iran conflict fears; set for weekly surge in Oil & Companies News 20/02/2026 Oil prices edged higher in Asian trade on Friday, extending sharp gains from the previous two sessions and leaving benchmarks on track for a roughly 6% weekly surge, as escalating U.S.-Iran tensions fuelled fears of supply disruptions in the Middle East. As of 22:41 ET (03:41 GMT), Brent Oil Futures expiring in April gained 0.2% to $71.81 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 0.5% to $66.78 per barrel. Both contracts hovered near their highest level since early August, and were set to jump more than 6% for the week. Oil near 6-mth high on US-Iran conflict risks Investors have grown increasingly concerned about potential conflict after U.S. President Donald Trump warned Tehran that “bad things” would happen if no nuclear deal is reached within about 10-15 days, raising the prospect of military action. A Wall Street Journal report said that Trump is weighing a limited strike on Iranian targets to force the nuclear deal. Any escalation involving Iran — a major OPEC producer — could threaten flows through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint for roughly a fifth of global oil shipments, amplifying market sensitivity to geopolitical risk. Oil’s rally this week also reflected the reversal of earlier losses, when prices slid at the start of the week on optimism that U.S.-Iran talks were progressing. Recent hardening rhetoric has since restored the risk premium and lifted crude toward multi-week highs. US crude stockpiles fall sharply, defying expectations – EIA U.S. Energy Information Administration data on Thursday showed crude inventories fell by about 9 million barrels in the latest week, against below forecasts for a build of 1.7 million barrels. The data also showed declines in gasoline and distillate stocks, both below expectations, reflecting robust demand from refineries and consumers. The market is now watching the U.S. Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index due later on Friday, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge. After recent hawkish Fed minutes signalled reluctance to cut rates soon, the PCE release could provide further clarity on the central bank’s rate outlook. Source: Investing.com 2026-02-20 hellenicshippingnews... window.___gcfg = {lang: 'en-US'}; (function(w, d, s) { function go(){ var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0], load = function(url, id) { if (d.getElementById(id)) {return;} js = d.createElement(s); js.src = url; js.id = id; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }; load('//connect.facebook.net/en/all.js#xfbml=1', 'fbjssdk'); load('https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js', 'gplus1js'); load('//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js', 'tweetjs'); } if (w.addEventListener) { w.addEventListener("load", go, false); } else if (w.attachEvent) { w.attachEvent("onload",go); } }(window, document, 'script')); tweet Share