US crude futures climbed more than $1 in early trading on Friday as investors remained sceptical about the chances of a breakthrough in ongoing peace negotiations between the United States and Iran.
The two sides continue to hold sharply differing positions on Tehran’s uranium stockpile and oversight of the Strait of Hormuz.
US West Texas Intermediate crude futures briefly touched $98 per barrel before settling at $97.55 by 22:28 GMT, marking a gain of $1.20, or 1.3 percent. The benchmark had dropped nearly 2 percent on Thursday, ending the session at its lowest level in almost two weeks.
Earlier, an unnamed “senior Iranian source” told Reuters that no peace agreement had yet been finalised with the US, although differences between the two countries had narrowed. Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said there had been “some good signs” in the negotiations, but stressed that any toll system in the Strait of Hormuz would be unacceptable.
Hezbollah claims 16 attacks on Israeli forces in south Lebanon
Hezbollah said it carried out 16 separate attacks against Israeli troops stationed in southern Lebanon on Thursday.
In a statement, the group said the operations involved rocket barrages, attack drones, quadcopters and artillery shelling.
According to Hezbollah, the strikes targeted Israeli troop concentrations, artillery units and armoured vehicles across several southern border villages, including Rachaf, Bint Jbeil, Naqoura and Deir Seriane.
US reportedly lost 20 percent of Reaper drone arsenal in Iran attacks
Iran has reportedly destroyed more than two dozen MQ-9 Reaper drones operated by US forces since the beginning of the current conflict, according to a report by Bloomberg News.
The report, citing unnamed sources, estimated the losses at around $1 billion — nearly 20 percent of the Pentagon’s pre-war inventory of the unmanned aircraft.
Several drones were reportedly shot down in flight by Iranian air defence systems, while others were destroyed on the ground during missile attacks on US military facilities or lost in operational mishaps, according to a source described as having “direct knowledge” of the matter.
Bloomberg added that US congressional reports showed the American military suffered damage or destruction to at least 42 aircraft during the conflict, with overall equipment losses estimated at close to $2.6 billion.
