Global oil prices hovered around $100 a barrel on Friday in choppy trading, after continued strikes by Iran and the United States fueled investor concerns that the widening conflict could throttle energy shipments from the region indefinitely.
Claims of strikes on tankers in the Red Sea by the Iranian-backed Houthi militia group on Thursday added to fears about the flow of oil out of the Middle East. The group has threatened to blockade Saudi ships taking an alternate route to avoid the Strait of Hormuz.
Oil prices fluctuate.
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The price of Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil, was down 3 percent to between $97 and $98 a barrel on Friday. Earlier in the day, crude rose above $101, up nearly 40 percent since the start of the war.
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On Thursday, Brent crude topped $100 a barrel for the first time since May.
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West Texas Intermediate crude, the U.S. benchmark, fell to just under $90 a barrel.
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Investors and analysts are monitoring how many ships are passing through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway between Iran and Oman. They are also paying close attention to the Houthis’ threat to blockade the Bab al-Mandab Strait at the southern end of the Red Sea, which Saudi Arabia has used as an alternative route to export oil.
Stocks are mixed.
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Futures for the S&P 500 pointed to a slight rise when stocks resume trading on Friday in New York, which would reverse only some of the decline on the previous day. The U.S. stock benchmark is on track for its second consecutive weekly fall.
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The Stoxx 600, a broad index of European companies, was up about 0.5 percent.
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Stocks in Asia fell on Friday following a sell-off in the U.S. markets over soaring oil prices, rising borrowing costs and worries about the technology industry. Japan’s Nikkei closed down 2.7 percent, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down 1 percent. South Korea’s Kospi market closed down 5.7 percent.
Gasoline prices rise again.
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Gas prices in the United States rose 2 cents on Friday, to $4.11 a gallon, according to the AAA motor club. The national average price at the pump has risen 38 percent since the war began.
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Gas prices usually trail crude oil increases or drops by a few days. Many of the world’s refineries are offline or producing less after sustaining damage — including in the Persian Gulf and Russia — straining fuel markets.
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The average price of diesel jumped again to $5.24 a gallon on Friday, up 40 percent since the start of the war.
Shipping traffic remains low.
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Shipping traffic in the Middle East has slowed to a trickle as fighting in and around the Persian Gulf has intensified. Only 15 ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, according to Kpler, a maritime data firm. That was roughly in line with recent days, and well below prewar traffic levels of around 130 ships per day.
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In recent months, Saudi Arabia diverted millions of barrels of oil per day via the Bab al-Mandab Strait to avoid the Strait of Hormuz. Some ships in the Red Sea are now moving north toward the Suez Canal, according to Kpler, but that route to Asia is costlier and logistically more complex.
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