Oil prices score a nearly 5% weekly gain on Mideast tensions

By Myra P. Saefong and William Watts

WTI, Brent oil end at highest prices since October

Oil futures climbed on Friday, with fears of a wider conflict in the Middle East involving Iran pulling prices up for a gain of nearly 5% on the week.

Tight global supplies and signs of strong demand have also contributed to a rise in prices for U.S. and global benchmark crude to their highest levels since October.

Price moves

West Texas Intermediate crude CL00 for May delivery CL.1 CLK24, the U.S. benchmark, rose 32 cents, or 0.4%, to settle at $86.91 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, for a weekly gain of 4.5%, according to Dow Jones Market Data.June Brent crude BRN00 BRNM24 rose 52 cents, or 0.6%, to $91.17 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe, ending 4.8% higher for the week. Brent and WTI settled at their highest since Oct. 20.May gasoline RBK24 tacked on 0.2% to $2.7886 a gallon, settling 2.5% higher for the week, while May heating oil HOK24 added 1.2% to $2.773 a gallon, for a weekly rise of 5.7%.Natural gas for May delivery NGK24 ended at $1.785 per million British thermal units, up 0.6% to settle with a weekly climb of nearly 1.3%.

Market drivers

Both Brent and WTI on Friday settled at their highest prices since October. Prices had also climbed Thursday after Iran vowed to retaliate for an apparent Israeli strike on its embassy in Syria that killed a top Iranian general and other military officials.

See: Head of Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard vows retaliation over apparent Israel strike

There's speculation about a possible attack by Iran on Israeli soil, which would be a "definite escalation of the proxy war between Iran and Israel," said Phil Flynn, senior market analyst at the Price Futures Group.

The concerns have put the market in "risk aversion mode, causing stocks to sell off [and] oil to rally as people prepared for what could be a major price spike if this confrontation happens," he said in his daily report.

Iran, despite sanctions, is the third-largest crude producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, or OPEC.

So far, tensions in the Middle East as a result of the Israel-Hamas war have not had a significant impact on oil supply, allowing prices to see a sustainable rise rather than a spike, but Iran's direct involvement could spark a rapid, near-term rise in oil prices, Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank, said in a note.

"In this context, we can't rule out the risk of a short-term rally in oil prices to $95/100 [per barrel] range," she said.

-Myra P. Saefong -William Watts

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04-05-24 1527ET

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