Crude-oil and refined product futures contracts saw gains heading into Friday afternoon. Contracts were on their way to ending the week with strong increases.
Prices are being supported by renewed tensions in the Middle East, as Israel has rejected Hamas' conditions for a ceasefire and resumed strikes in the Gaza Strip.
The March NYMEX contract for West Texas Intermediate crude was 52cts higher at $76.74/bbl at about noon EST. The April contract rose 47cts to $76.66/bl. The front-month contract is about 6% ahead of last Friday's settlement.
The April Globex contract for Brent crude was 46cts higher at $82.09/bbl and the May contract rose 42cts to $81.50/bbl.
Diesel prices saw another day of large increases. The March ULSD contract moved 7.81cts higher to $2.9689/gal while April prices added 6.29cts to $2.8776/gal. The front-month contract has risen nearly 12% since last week.
RBOB futures were mixed as the March contract drifted in and out of positive territory, showing a loss of 0.28cts to $2.3392/gal. The April contract was 0.53cts higher at $2.5629/gal, with the premium to March representing the upcoming shift to summer-specification gasoline. Despite the day's losses, the April RBOB contract is nearly 9% over its settlement last week.
Gasoline prices pulled back in most spot markets around the country. Chicago, Group 3, San Francisco and the Pacific Northwest gasoline prices had losses of more than 2cts/gal.
Renewable Identification Number prices, which have alternated between gains and losses in recent days, were on track to end the week with gains Friday. D6 ethanol and D4 biodiesel RINs rose 0.75cts.
This content was created by Oil Price Information Service, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. OPIS is run independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
-- Reporting by Steve Cronin, scronin@opisnet.com; Editing by Michael Kelly, mkelly@opisnet.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
02-09-24 1303ET
