Oil prices rose on Friday, rebounding from recent losses as markets awaited more signs of progress towards a U.S.-Iran peace deal. 

Brent crude futures for July, the global oil benchmark, jumped 3.3% to $106.00 a barrel by 05:19 ET (09:19 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 2.9% to $99.01 per barrel. Both contracts were on track to post weekly declines.

"Uncertainty surrounding a US-Iran deal abounds as we head into the weekend, leaving the market susceptible to seesaw price moves if any fresh noise emerges," analysts at ING said in a note.

Iran’s foreign minister met with the interior minister of Pakistan, with the discussions focused on bridging key divides between the U.S. and Tehran over proposals to end their more than two-month old war, Iranian media reported.

The gathering comes two days after Pakistan presented Iran with the latest U.S. message in the negotiations, Reuters reported, citing the semi-officials Tasnim and ISNA news agencies. Islamabad has frequently acted as a mediator between the U.S. and Iran, facilitating diplomatic efforts to conclude a conflict that has cost thousands of lives and threatened the global economy.

Hopes around a permanent detente have been both brightened and dimmed this week, as sentiment is swayed by often contradictory news reports.

According to ISNA, Pakistan’s Interior Minister Syed Mohsin Naqvi is attempting to forge a framework for ending the war and resolving differences between both sides.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said discussions have shown "good signs" of progress, although he flagged that he did not want to be "overly optimistic" and was waiting to "see what happens over the next few days."

Meanwhile, a senior Iranian official quoted by Reuters said that gaps in negotiations have narrowed. However, a major fault line emerged on Thursday when the news agency reported that Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei had issued a directive that no enriched uranium should leave the country, hardening Tehran’s stance against one of President Donald Trump’s major demands.

The White House pushed back against the report, describing it as false, Fox News reported, citing a person directly involved in the negotiations.

Washington and Iran are now locked in a protracted ceasefire that has lasted longer than the initial phase of bombardments which began in late February. The U.S. and Israel launched a joint assault of Iran, sparking a bout of attacks that spread to other areas in the Middle East, including large energy-producing countries in the Gulf region.

Questions are also swirling around the status of the Strait of Hormuz, with Trump opposing efforts by Iran and Oman to establish a toll system for traversing the narrow conduit through which roughly a fifth of the world’s oil transits. Crucially, the strait remains all but closed to tanker traffic, keeping upward pressure on oil prices and fueling worries over a wave of inflation in countries around the world.