Oil Achieves Weekly Gain As Trump Warns Iran Will "Pay Hell" If Protesters Are Killed

Meanwhile, Venezuela's acting president says she'll pursue mutual interests with Trump: File Image/Pixabay

With massive protests intensifying in Iran to the degree that some pundits think a regime change might soon happen, oil on Friday achieved  gains for a third straight week, the longest streak of weekly gains since June of 2025.

Oil achieved daily gains too: as of 1359 GMT, Brent was up 50 cents to $62.49 per barrel, and West Texas Intermediate climbed 51 cents to $58.27.

Still, chronic worries about a global glut this year remained: "Crude remains caught in a complex dance between heightened geopolitical risk and rising inventory," said Robert Rennie, the head of commodity research at Westpac Banking Corp.

Although focus on Venezuela wavered on Friday due to Iran as well as Venezuela's acting president Delcy Rodríguez issuing a statement saying she was looking to diplomacy and an agenda of "mutual interest," Rennie worried that higher output from the South American country combined with production elsewhere could result in prices trading in the $50s for Q1 2026.

As for the impact of the protests in the Islamic republic, Bloomberg noted that, "The scale of risk shows up clearest in options markets, where the skew toward bullish calls is the biggest for U.S. crude futures since July."

Ole Hansen, head of commodity analysis at Saxo Bank, added, "Iran protests seem to be gathering momentum, leading the market to worry about disruptions."

U.S. president Donald Trump earlier this week said Iran's regime will "pay hell" if any protesters were killed; subsequently, Tehran vowed that "rioters" who damage property or clash with police will face the death penalty.

As for trading drivers in the near future, Tina Teng, market strategist at Moomoo ANZ, said, "The market will focus on the outcome in the coming days for how the Venezuelan oil in storage will be sold and delivered."

On that score, Trump on Friday met with oil executives to determine which companies he will allow into Venezuela.

He told them, "One thing I think everyone has to know is that if we didn't do this, China or Russia would have done it."