European equities traded largely flat on Friday while oil prices stayed elevated after U.S. President Donald Trump pushed back the deadline for potential air strikes on Iranian power facilities to April 6.
At 08:02 GMT, the pan-European Stoxx 600 showed little movement, with Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 also hovering near unchanged levels. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 edged up about 0.4%.
In a social media post on Thursday, Trump said the extension was granted following a request from the Iranian government, which he claimed has been holding ongoing discussions with Washington. Iranian officials, however, have denied that negotiations with the United States are underway.
The situation follows an ultimatum issued by Trump last week warning that Iran’s energy infrastructure could be targeted unless Tehran moved within 48 hours to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. On Monday, he extended that deadline to Friday.
Despite the warning, tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains severely disrupted. The strategic waterway along Iran’s southern coastline carries roughly 20% of global oil shipments, and its closure has intensified pressure on the global economy, restricting key energy supplies and heightening fears of inflation driven by rising energy costs.
There were few indications that a resolution to the conflict was close. The confrontation has persisted since joint U.S. and Israeli forces launched strikes on Iran in late February, and reports on Friday suggested that Israel and Iran had exchanged additional missile attacks.
Diplomats from the Group of Seven are expected to meet in France, where Washington’s push for international assistance to reopen the Strait of Hormuz is likely to be a central topic. So far, those appeals have largely met resistance.
Amid the geopolitical tension, oil prices remained firm as the volatile trading week drew toward its end. Brent crude futures for May delivery, the global benchmark, were last up 1.2% at $109.25 per barrel, recovering part of the losses seen earlier in the week and remaining well above levels recorded before the conflict began.
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