SINGAPORE: Crude oil headed for the sharpest weekly gain since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, even as prices eased slightly on Friday after Washington issued waivers for Russian oil purchases to ease supply constraints.
Brent crude futures have surged 17.2% this week, while West Texas Intermediate has jumped 20%.
Those gains dwarf the ground given up on Friday, with Brent down 53 cents, or 0.6%, to $84.88 per barrel and WTI off 61 cents, or 0.8%, to $60.40 as of 0738 GMT.
Oil started its aggressive rally after the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran on Saturday, with Iran then halting tankers moving through the Strait of Hormuz, which handles roughly one-fifth of the world's daily oil supply.
The conflict has since spread across the Middle East's key energy-producing areas, causing disruptions to oil output and the shutdowns of refineries and liquefied natural gas plants.
"With every passing day, halted activities in Hormuz will have two major impacts on oil: the inability to store 20 million barrels per day and the lack of flow to the world, which could drive global energy prices higher," said Priyanka Sachdeva, senior market analyst at Phillip Nova.
The U.S. Treasury Department is expected to announce measures to combat rising energy prices from the Iran conflict, a White House official said, a move that resulted in prices declining by over 1% earlier in Friday's session.
However, losses narrowed after Bloomberg News reported that the Trump administration had ruled out deploying the Treasury Department to trade oil futures for now.
The U.S. Treasury on Thursday granted waivers for companies to start buying sanctioned Russian oil stored on tankers to ease supply constraints that have pushed refineries in Asia to reduce their fuel processing.
The first waivers were given to Indian refiners, who have responded by buying millions of barrels of Russian crude oil cargoes, reversing months of pressure on them to halt the purchases.
Data from ship-tracking firm Kpler shows about 30 million barrels of Russian oil are available and loaded on vessels in the Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea region and Singapore Strait, including volumes in floating storage.
Still, the recent gain in prices is relatively subdued compared to other price shocks such as in 2022, when Russia's attack on Ukraine pushed prices above $100 a barrel.
"It's important to put this move into perspective: despite crude's almost 20% surge this month, the price is currently just $3.40 above its average over the last four years,” IG analyst Tony Sycamore said on Friday. - Reuters
