Brent crude was around $89.45 a barrel early Friday and down about 5.3% for the week, while WTI stood near $83.31 and was heading for a 4.3% weekly decline, according to Reuters. The moves would end two-week winning streaks for both benchmarks. A later Investing.com snapshot showed Brent futures near $88.14. Prices are being pulled in opposite directions: diplomacy involving Iran and Oman may improve shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, but only seven visible commodity vessels crossed the waterway Thursday, versus 17 a day earlier and a 10-day average of 15, based on preliminary Kpler data reported by Reuters. Roughly one-fifth of global oil supply normally passes through Hormuz. WTI rebounded from around $80 and remained above support at $82-$82.40 after facing resistance at $83.50-$84. U.S. gasoline inventories fell 2.5 million barrels and distillate stocks dropped 2.2 million barrels, leaving both below five-year seasonal averages, while crude stocks rose only 0.1 million barrels to 428.9 million. OPEC+ plans to restore 188,000 barrels per day of voluntary production cuts in September, but the International Energy Agency sees a possible 1.8 million-barrel-per-day third-quarter deficit alongside a 1.6 million-barrel-per-day decline in global oil demand in 2026. Improved Hormuz flows could extend the pullback, while continued disruption and tight inventories could limit losses and restore the geopolitical premium.