Anika Begay
A truck carrying natural gas enters the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing with Egypt, hours after the start of a four-day truce in fighting between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas, November 24, 2023.
Khatib said | AFP | Getty Images
U.S. crude oil gained more than 4% this week as recession fears eased and the risk of a wider war in the Middle East, which could disrupt production and transportation, loomed over the market.
Oil rose as the S&P 500 index rallied on Friday, recovering much of its losses from a sell-off earlier in the week.
Here are Friday’s energy prices:
- West Texas Intermediate September contract: $76.84 a barrel, up 65 cents, or 0.85%. Year to date, U.S. oil has gained more than 7%.
- Brent October contract: $79.66 a barrel, up 50 cents, or 0.63%. Year to date, the global benchmark is ahead by more than 3%.
- RBOB petrol September contract: $2.38 a gallon, down about 1 cent, or 0.52%. Gasoline is up 13.5% year to date.
- Natural gas September contract: $2.15 per thousand cubic feet, up more than 2 cents, or 1.18%. Gas is down 14.4% year to date.
The Middle East remains in turmoil following the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last week. Israel has braced for retaliatory strikes by Iran and Hezbollah militia in Lebanon, although the United States has worked through diplomatic channels to avoid an escalation of hostilities.
“The ongoing bombing of the Gaza Strip and nightly attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon are hardly a declaration of peace,” Tamas Varga, an analyst at oil broker PVM, told clients on Friday. “This keeps alive the idea that at some point a retaliatory strike by Iran or its proxies cannot be far off.”
In a joint statement, the United States, Egypt and Qatar called on Hamas and Israel to return to the negotiating table to conclude a ceasefire agreement in Gaza.
“The Biden administration’s renewed commitment to resuming talks between Israel and Hamas is unlikely to bear fruit,” Phil Flynn, senior market analyst at Price Futures Group, told clients on Friday.
“Of course, hedge funds have used every deadline for ceasefire talks to push down oil prices,” Flynn said. “At some point they may realize that ceasefire talks are not a reason to sell more oil.”
