WTI crude oil futures climbed to around $96 per barrel on Friday, as traders remained acutely sensitive to any signs of further escalation in the Middle East. Iran continued strikes on neighboring countries even as Israel signaled it would avoid targeting energy infrastructure, and both sides exchanged new attacks, including strikes in Tehran.
Former President Donald Trump downplayed the recent jump in oil prices, arguing that the situation could have been worse and might be resolved soon.
The spread between WTI and Brent widened to about $14 per barrel. This left Brent on track for weekly gains, while WTI remained poised for a weekly decline, after the International Energy Agency agreed to release 400 million barrels of crude from strategic reserves, including 172 million barrels from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR).
In addition, US crude inventories at Cushing, Oklahoma — the delivery and pricing hub for West Texas Intermediate futures traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange — rose last week to 27.52 million barrels, the highest level since August 2024.
