InfoQuest – The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil contract in New York closed slightly positive on Friday (April 19) after Iran paid no attention to news of the Israeli attack. It is a sign that the Middle East may be able to avoid escalation of the conflict.
The West Texas Intermediate crude oil contract will be delivered in May. It rose 41 cents, or 0.50%, to close at $83.14 a barrel. Brent crude oil contract for delivery in June. It rose 18 cents, or 0.21%, to close at $87.29 a barrel.
The West Texas Intermediate crude contract for June delivery closed up 12 cents, reaching $82.22 a barrel.
West Texas Intermediate and Brent crude futures rose more than $3 a barrel on Friday morning. After news reports reported, an explosion occurred in the Iranian city of Isfahan. The source said it was an Israeli attack. But the crude oil contract later declined in the positive period. Iran did not care about the news. He also stated that he does not plan to retaliate against Israel in any way.
Oil markets also received support after the US Congress increased sanctions on Iranian oil exports after Iran launched attacks on Israel over the weekend. Iran is the third largest oil producer in OPEC.
Investors still expect that tensions in the Middle East could affect oil supplies.
An analyst from Goldman, Zacks and Commerce Bank, raised their forecasts for Brent crude prices on Friday. Given the geopolitical tensions including the trend of increasing demand. And the limited production volumes of the OPEC Plus group
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