US crude oil posted its second straight weekly rise on Friday as Israel prepares for retaliation against Iran.
The U.S. benchmark and global benchmark Brent rose more than 1% this week. Oil prices rose more than 10% through Friday's close since Iran attacked Israel with ballistic missiles last week.
“Still, maintaining rising oil price momentum has proven to be a difficult task: without additional catalysts, the 'war' and 'cyclical' premiums are easily vulnerable to abatement,” says Natasha Kaneva, head of global commodities strategy at JP Morgan, said customers in a statement Friday.
Here are Friday's closing energy prices:
- West Texas Middle School November contract: $75.56 a barrel, down 29 cents, or 0.38%. U.S. crude oil has risen more than 5% since the start of the year.
- Brent December contract: $79.04 a barrel, down 36 cents, or 0.45%. The global benchmark has risen more than 2% since the start of the year.
- RBOB gasoline November contract: $2.1516 per gallon, little changed. Year to date, gasoline is ahead by more than 2%.
- natural gas November contract: $2,632 per gallon, down 1.61%. Since the beginning of the year, the price of gas has risen by more than 4%.
According to media reports, Israel's security cabinet met on Thursday to discuss the country's response to Iran's attack. US President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a telephone conversation on Wednesday.
Traders fear Israel could attack Iran's oil industry, potentially triggering a cycle of escalation that leads to significant supply disruptions in the Middle East. Biden has stopped Israel from targeting Iran's oil fields. Gulf Arab states have also reportedly lobbied the White House to pressure Israel to refrain from attacking Iran's energy infrastructure.
“We expect the White House may encourage Israel to target refineries instead of oil export facilities, arguing that Iran would feel the economic impact more directly,” said Helima Croft, head of global commodities strategy at RBC Capital Markets, a Thursday note to clients.
But Croft warned that U.S. influence may have waned since April, when Israel's response to Iran's first missile and drone attack was relatively muted.
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