Global oil prices surged on Friday, with Brent crude touching $117.30 a barrel as traders priced in the risk that the US-Israeli war on Iran could soon resume.

Brent, the international benchmark, climbed roughly 4 percent on the day. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate reached $103 a barrel, its highest level in five weeks.

The rally followed a series of escalating signals from the region. US envoy Tom Barrack said a strike on Iran could “absolutely” happen as early as this weekend, although President Donald Trump later said he knew nothing about such plans. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard also claimed to have hit several tankers near the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway that carries about a fifth of the world’s seaborne oil.

Trump accused Tehran of inventing the claims to push prices up before the US midterm elections.

Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia added to the pressure. The Yemeni group has claimed strikes over the past 48 hours on Saudi targets including the Defence Ministry, two airports and an Aramco facility in Yanbu. Saudi Aramco ordered the evacuation of its Dhahran headquarters, the first such move since the Iran war began.

Saudi authorities did not acknowledge the claimed hit on the Defence Ministry. A pipeline shutdown in Libya has further tightened supply expectations.

Analysts say markets are bracing for fresh escalation in the Gulf. ING analysts said the mere possibility of renewed conflict is likely to keep a large risk premium in prices even if tensions do not widen. The surge is also a headache for Trump, who has promised a quick end to the war. UN ambassador Mike Waltz has said the conflict could drag on for another year.

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