Global oil prices traded around the USD 100-a-barrel level Friday, shrugging off the Trump administration`s earlier decision to temporarily allow the delivery and sale of sanctioned seaborne Russian crude – a waiver aimed at mitigating a surge in prices following its attacks on Iran, writes CNN.

"The license, posted to the US Treasury website, applies only to Russian crude and petroleum products loaded on vessels as of March 12 and authorizes those shipments through April 11.

"To increase the global reach of existing supply, @USTreasury is providing a temporary authorization to permit countries to purchase Russian oil currently stranded at sea", Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent wrote on social media. "This narrowly tailored, short-term measure applies only to oil already in transit and will not provide significant financial benefit to the Russian government, which derives the majority of its energy revenue from taxes assessed at the point of extraction".

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, inched down 0.6% to nearly $100 a barrel. WTI, the US benchmark, edged down 1.6% to trade at more than $94 a barrel.

Crude oil prices have surged since the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which is flanked by Iran and ordinarily serves as the conduit for one-fifth of the world’s oil output".