Oil climbs over $1 on tanker attacks, no progress on peace

Oil climbs over $1 on tanker attacks, no progress on peace

HOUSTON, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Crude oil futures climbed over $1 a barrel on Friday on tanker attacks and a lack of progress on a peace agreement between the Trump administration and Iran's leadership.

Brent futures settled at $88.52 a barrel, up $1.45, or 1.67%. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures finished at $82.40, up $1.15, or 1.42%.

Brent and WTI were on track for weekly gains of 6.0% and 5.4%, respectively.

"We're getting a rally going into the weekend after new attacks on tankers and lack of progress on a cease-fire agreement," said Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates.

A "day of reckoning" may come if traffic in the strait of Hormuz remains constrained, through which 20% of global supply can pass, Lipow said.

On Thursday, the U.S. said it could maintain a naval blockade of Iran indefinitely and increase economic pressure on Tehran in response to stalled ceasefire talks.

"Watch this space for more announcements coming next week because we are going to apply measures like have never been seen in the history of economic isolation of a country," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Newsmax's "Rob Schmitt Tonight" program.

Two vessels from the state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company were attacked while transiting the strait on Thursday, the United Arab Emirates' state news agency WAM said, an incident the UAE government condemned as an Iranian attack.

"That's the headline that pushed up prices: Tankers attacked," said Phil Flynn, senior analyst for Price Futures Group.

Reporting by Erwin Seba in Houston, Mohi Narayan in New Delhi and Helen Clark in Perth; Editing by Mark Potter, Barbara Lewis, Paul Simao, Rod Nickel and Cynthia Osterman