Brent crude closed above $80 a barrel on Friday, its highest level in months, as war-risk insurance premiums on Gulf and Red Sea shipping surged. Traders cited mounting threats to the Strait of Hormuz as the main driver of the rally.

Saudi Arabia's efforts to route barrels around Hormuz now carry insurance costs that have climbed sharply in recent weeks, according to shipping brokers and marine insurers in London. The added premiums have raised the delivered cost of Middle Eastern crude to Asian and European buyers.

The surge followed a week of escalating maritime risk assessments from underwriters at Lloyd's of London, which widened its high-risk designation for vessels transiting the Red Sea. Analysts at Goldman Sachs and Rystad Energy had flagged the tightening supply premium in notes to clients.

Energy stocks tracked the rally, with shares in ExxonMobil, Shell and Saudi Aramco firming, while airline and shipping equities came under pressure on higher fuel and freight-cost expectations. OPEC delegates signalled no immediate change to output policy ahead of the group's next meeting.

The International Energy Agency cautioned that sustained disruption to Hormuz and Red Sea routes could keep prices elevated into the fourth quarter, pressuring importers across Asia already contending with weaker currencies.