Oil prices soar on Friday, April 10, 2026, driven by fresh anxiety over supplies from Saudi Arabia.
Prices were still headed for a loss as nerves eased over a fragile two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran, while Israel signalled a potential diplomatic opening, saying it was ready to begin direct talks with Lebanon as soon as possible.
Brent crude futures added 96 cents, or 1%, to $96.88 a barrel as of 0604 GMT, while West Texas Intermediate futures were up 78 cents, 0.80%, at $98.65 a barrel.
For this week, both contracts have so far lost about 11%, the biggest weekly decline since June 2025 when the previous Israeli-U.S. strikes on Iran were halted.
Attacks on Saudi energy facilities have cut the kingdom’s oil production capacity by around 600,000 barrels per day and throughput on its East-West Pipeline by about 700,000 bpd, Saudi state news agency SPA reported on Thursday, citing an official source at the Ministry of Energy.
ANZ analysts said in a Friday note that concerns of further oil supply disruptions were heightened after the report.
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Ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz stood at well below 10% of normal volumes on Thursday despite the ceasefire as Iran asserted its control by warning ships to keep to its territorial waters while doing so.
Iran and the U.S. agreed on Tuesday to a two-week ceasefire brokered by Pakistan, but fighting was still taking place following the announcement.
Analysts say Pakistan will try to push for a more durable peace agreement but may lack the leverage needed to compel the reopening of the strategic waterway.
Iran wants to charge fees for ships passing through the strait under a peace deal, a Tehran official told Reuters on April 7. Western leaders and the U.N.’s shipping agency have pushed back on the idea.
