Baghdad: Oil prices achieved weekly gains for the third consecutive week, despite falling for the third straight session on Friday evening. The easing of fears regarding Saudi supply disruptions offset concerns about a widening Middle East conflict amidst fresh clashes between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis in Yemen.
According to National Iraqi News Agency, Brent crude futures fell by 95 cents, or 0.93%, to settle at $104.87 per barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures closed at $100.30 per barrel, down $1.61 or 1.58%, though they rose 0.25% over the week, marking a third consecutive week of gains.
Oil prices have risen steadily over the past few weeks as the US and Iran resumed tit-for-tat attacks and the Houthis intensified their military activities. These developments, combined with global refining capacity issues, have driven up prices for major fuels, such as diesel, in key markets.
Data from the American Automobile Association (AAA) indicates that the retail price of diesel in the US has
reached a record high of $6.45 per gallon, while the average retail price of gasoline stands at $4.47 per gallon at a time of year when gasoline prices typically decline.
IIR Energy, a firm specializing in refining data, projected that US operational refining capacity would drop by 371,000 barrels per day next week.
The Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed. Preliminary shipping data showed that only four cargo vessels passed through the strait last Thursday, well below the 10-day average of approximately 16 ships.
Oil prices had risen to their highest levels in nearly four months earlier this week after sources reported the suspension of crude oil shipments from the Saudi port of Yanbu on the Red Sea and Riyadh’s cancellation of some shipments bound for Europe following damage to the East-West pipeline caused by an attack last week.
However, prices retreated following reports that Saudi Arabia aims to restore about half of the pipeline’s capacity within days and is offering additional crude oil shi
pments to Asian refineries via ship-to-ship transfers off the Omani port of Sohar.