-
Oil prices react to Middle East tensions
Like gold, oil ran up and then down as the news of the Israeli reply to Iran’s attack earlier in the week waxed and waned in terms of tensions. The news, which broke during Asian trading, seemed tailor-made for oil and other commodities such as gold—up they went—then eased when it became clear Iran saw the reply as a bit of ‘tit for tat’ and not too concerning. As a result, WTI crude oil for May delivery closed up 41 US cents to settle at $83.14 per barrel, the lowest since late March, while June Brent crude, the global benchmark, added 33 US cents to $87.44. That left WTI down nearly 4% for the week and ... (full story)