Meanwhile, Qatar fears that global economies could collapse: File Image/Pixabay

Oil on Friday enjoyed another war-driven daily price surge, as the Iran/U.S. war expanded to include regions critical to the production and transportation of crude.

After U.S. president Donald Trump demanded an “unconditional surrender” of Iran, and with the remaining ruling members of the Islamic republic lobbing missiles indiscriminately at neighbouring Middle Eastern countries, Brent leaped another 8.5 percent to settle at $92.69 (it earlier peaked at $94, its highest level since September 2023).

West Texas Intermediate rose a massive 12.2 percent to settle at $90.90 per barrel, breaching this level for the first time since 2023.

For the week, oil surged by 35.6 percent, the biggest weekly gain in the history of futures contracts dating back to 1983.

With traffic in the Strait of Hormuz remaining at a standstill, Saad al-Kaabi, energy minister for Qatar, told media on Friday that crude prices could reach $150 per barrel in the coming weeks if the situation remains the same, and this in turn could “bring down the economies of the world.”

He added, “Everybody that has not called for force majeure we expect will do so in the next few days that this continues…all exporters in the Gulf region will have to call force majeure; if they don’t, they are at some point going to pay the liability for that legally, and that’s their choice.”

Natasha Kaneva, head of global commodities research at JPMorgan, raised analytical worries to fever pitch on Friday by telling clients in a note, “The market is shifting from pricing pure geopolitical risk to grappling with tangible operational disruption.”

Meanwhile, U.S. energy secretary Chris Wright said the U.S. Navy could begin escorting commercial vessels through the Hormuz "as soon as reasonable,"

One troubling development beyond the Middle Eastern hostilities was brought to light on Friday with a report showing that U.S. employers cut more jobs last month than they created, after oil prices spiked above $90 per barrel.

Bloomberg pointed out that “The combination of a weak economy and high inflation is a worst-case scenario for investors because the Federal Reserve has no good tool to fix both problems at the same time.”