Oil prices rose sharply on Friday amid rising concerns about the potential impact of the ongoing Israel – Hamas war on global crude supplies.<\/p>\n
Israel’s military today called for all civilians of Gaza City, more than 1 million people, to relocate south within 24 hours.<\/p>\n
The Israeli military said it would operate “significantly” in Gaza City in the coming days and civilians would only be able to return when another announcement was made.<\/p>\n
The United States’ decision to tighten sanctions against Russian crude exports has also raised supply concerns.<\/p>\n
The U.S. Treasury Department said that it has imposed its first set of sanctions on two companies that shipped Russian oil in violation of a multinational price cap of $60 a barrel.<\/p>\n
Russia is the world’s second-largest oil producer and it is feared that the new sanctions could tighten global supply.<\/p>\n
West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November ended higher by $4.78 or about 5.8% at $87.69 a barrel. WTI crude futures gained about 6% in the week.<\/p>\n
Brent crude futures for December settled at $90.89 a barrel, gaining $4.89 or about 5.7%. <\/p>\n
Baker Hughes said today that the number of active rigs drilling for oil in the U.S. rose by 4 to 501 this week.<\/p>\n