Oil Market Conditions: WTI closed positive, amid concerns about tight oil supplies.
InfoQuest – West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures in New York closed higher on Friday (February 9) and are up about 6% this week. This was driven by concerns about oil supplies from the Middle East and production problems that led to a tightening of the refined oil market.
The WTI contract is scheduled for delivery in March. The price of oil rose by 62 cents, or 0.81%, to close at $76.84 per barrel. It rose 6.3% this week.
As for the Brent crude contract, which was delivered in April. It rose 56 cents, or 0.69%, to close at $82.19 a barrel. It rose 6.3% this week as well.
Concerns about oil supplies from the Middle East helped boost oil prices. Crude oil futures rose throughout this week. With support after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected Hamas' ceasefire offer on Wednesday (February 7)
Today, Friday, Israeli forces continued their air strikes on the Gaza Strip. After that Thursday, the southern border city of Rafah was bombed, and this supported an increase in oil prices by about 3%.
Crude oil futures were also supported by strong gasoline and diesel prices. Due to the sharp decline in oil refining in the United States, the market for petroleum products is tight.
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