Expectations are growing for a resumption of hostilities with Iran: File Image/Pixabay

Oil resumed its fear-driven course upward on Friday, rising over 4 percent due to a lack of any clarity about whether U.S. president Donald Trump’s summit with China president Xi Jinping would benefit re-opening the Strait of Hormuz – or lead to any tangible improvement in relations between the two countries.

Brent jumped more than 3 percent to $109.26 per barrel, and West Texas Intermediate rose over 4 percent to $105.42 per barrel.

Oil prices have climbed 50 percent since war broke out between the U.S. and Iran.

Also dominating analytical concerns was the likelihood of the U.S. and Iran resuming hostilities after rejecting several peace proposals; indeed, Trump said he is running out of patience with the Islamic republic and agreed with Jinping that it cannot have a nuclear weapon and must reopen the Hormuz.

Iran foreign minister Abbas Araqchi on Friday countered that Iran has “no trust” in the U.S. and is ready for either diplomatic solutions or a return to fighting.

Vandana Hari, founder of Vanda Insights, said, "Market ‌focus is ⁠back on the deadlock and a blockaded Strait of Hormuz, with a tail risk of renewed military escalation."

Tamas Varga, analyst at PVM, noted, "An increasing number of vessels are filtering through the strait ... although currently this has a more tangible impact on sentiment than on the actual ⁠oil balance."

Still, Washington seemed to be able to look beyond what it regarded as temporary market havoc: energy secretary Chris Wright on Friday said the Trump administration will more than put back into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve whatever oil it takes out during the current emergency drawdown period.

He stated, “We’ll leave it fuller than when we started”; the SPR is around 384 million barrels, compared to the 621 million barrels held in 2021.

In other oil news on Friday, the Canadian federal government and the province of Alberta on Friday announced they had reached a carbon pricing deal to move the long-discussed West Coast oil pipeline into construction, with a start date now set for September 2027; the pipeline will transport about 1 million barrels per day to the Pacific Coast and, ultimately, Asia.

While in the past the project was stymied by Ottawa’s stringent environmental standards, the current federal government appears to have softened its conditions for such projects to move forward.