The Greek-flagged crude oil tanker “Asahi Princess” is moored off the coast of the Syrian Banias port refinery on the Mediterranean Sea on April 15, 2026. Iraq has started exporting crude using tanker trucks through Syria, its oil ministry said, after an official said oil revenues last month fell more than 70 percent compared with February.
Bakr Alqasem | AFP | getty images
Oil prices fell on Friday as direct talks between the United States and Iran are expected to take place in Pakistan.
International benchmark Brent crude futures fell 0.23% to $104.83 a barrel by 2:05 p.m. ET, while West Texas Intermediate futures fell nearly 2% to $93.90.
White House Press Secretary Carolyn Leavitt on Friday confirmed that US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will visit Pakistan on Saturday morning for direct talks with their Iranian counterparts.
Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said earlier on Friday that he would travel to Islamabad, Muscat and Moscow “to closely coordinate with our partners on bilateral matters and consult on regional developments.”
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump said Thursday that Israel and Lebanon agreed to extend their ceasefire by three weeks after a meeting with senior US officials at the White House.
The ceasefire, initially set for 10 days, will now allow more time for diplomatic talks, with Washington pledging support to strengthen Lebanon’s security against Hezbollah.
US oil prices since the beginning of the year
While a ceasefire between the US and Iran remains in place, the conflict has devolved into a naval blockade keeping the vital Strait of Hormuz closed, as both attempt to gain economic leverage to secure a deal favorable to their interests.
“The longer the strait remains closed, the greater the economic cost – increasing the likelihood that one side will be forced to withdraw,” the Commonwealth Bank of Australia wrote in a note published Friday.
Before the war about 20 million barrels of oil and petroleum products were shipped daily through the strait.
“We estimate that the US will be the first to withdraw due to rising political and economic costs. But risks remain for a major military escalation, which would significantly increase the US dollar,” the analysts wrote.
“We are facing the greatest energy security threat in history,” Fatih Birol, head of the International Energy Agency, told CNBC on Thursday.
“To date, we have lost 13 million barrels of oil per day … and there are major disruptions to critical commodities,” he told Steve Sedgwick virtually on CNBC’s Converge Live in Singapore.
Birol previously warned that an Iran war and closing the Strait of Hormuz would lead to “the biggest energy crisis ever” and urged governments to increase their resilience with alternative energy sources.
— CNBC’s Holly Elliott contributed to this report.
