Crude Oil and Refined Product Prices Remain Positive Amidst Middle East Unrest

Crude oil and refined product prices have experienced early gains, although they have slightly retreated. However, they still remain in positive territory on Friday morning due to ongoing unrest in the Middle East region, which continues to support energy prices.

Crude Contracts and Refined Products

As of 11:25 a.m. ET, crude contracts have increased by approximately $1 per barrel, while refined products have seen an increase of over 1 cent per gallon.

Week Outlook

Despite these gains, crude contracts are expected to close the week near their opening levels, whereas refined products are likely to witness another week of gains.

Military Strikes in Yemen

The surge in prices on Friday was driven by news of overnight military strikes launched by the U.S. and U.K. against Houthis in Yemen. These strikes were in retaliation for a series of ongoing attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.

Widening Conflicts

There are concerns that these strikes may widen the war between Israel and Hamas, further contributing to the increase in oil prices. Earlier on Friday, oil prices surged by over $3 per barrel before experiencing a slight pullback.

Oil Price Statistics

As afternoon approached, the NYMEX February West Texas Intermediate (WTI) contract rose by $1.11 to reach $73.13 per barrel. Simultaneously, the March contract increased by $1.10 to stand at $73.19 per barrel.

Brent crude gains were slightly stronger, with the March contract advancing by $1.21 to reach $78.62 per barrel, while April prices rose by a similar amount to $78.32 per barrel.

Currently, WTI contracts are about 70 cents below their settlement price from a week ago, whereas Brent contracts are approximately 20 cents below the settlement price of last Friday.

Gasoline Futures

Gasoline futures have experienced a slight decline from their morning highs. The NYMEX February RBOB contract is up 1.58 cents, standing at $2.1301 per gallon, while the March contract has risen by 1.5 cents, reaching $2.1515 per gallon.

ULSD Contracts

The NYMEX February ULSD contract has increased by 1.6 cents, settling at $2.6898 per gallon. However, it remains about 6 cents below its earlier highs. The March contract for ULSD has risen by 1.63 cents to $2.6307 per gallon.