Brent fell 1.44% to $87.75 on Friday yet closed July with a 21% monthly gain

Oil prices fell more than one percent in Friday 31 July 2026 trading after tanker traffic through the Persian Gulf was curtailed. According to Mehr News Agency citing Iran's oil ministry, North Sea Brent crude was down $1.28 or 1.44 percent at $87.75 a barrel as of 08:07 GMT on Friday, while West Texas Intermediate traded $1.48 or 1.77 percent lower at $82.11 a barrel.

Despite the daily decline, both benchmarks ended July higher, with Brent on track for a 21 percent monthly gain and WTI for an 18 percent rise.

Ole Hvalbye, an analyst at SEB Research, said the market has stopped trading on the war factor and is now trading on shipping data. Priyanka Sachdeva of Phillip Nova said higher security risks have raised freight and insurance costs and made the geopolitical risk premium in oil prices significantly more pronounced. A drone attack that set two gas carriers on fire at Egypt's Damietta port has added a fresh threat to the Suez Canal route. Before the military conflict in West Asia, roughly one fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas cargoes passed through the Strait of Hormuz.