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The Peninsula
Doha: Oil prices settled higher on Friday and gained 4% on the week, with investors taking stock of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East as well as the US election next month.
Brent crude futures settled up $1.67, or 2.25%, at $76.05 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate crude closed $1.59 higher, or 2.27%, to $71.78.
Brent settled 4% up on the week, while WTI settled 3.7% higher on the week. Both benchmarks fluctuated last week largely on expectations of heightened or reduced Middle East risk, noted Al-Attiyah Foundation in its Weekly Energy Market Review.
An Israeli strike killed three journalists in south Lebanon on Friday, Lebanon's health ministry said, and the UN refugee agency warned that Israeli airstrikes on a border crossing with Syria were hindering refugees trying to flee the war.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said there was a sense of urgency in getting to a diplomatic resolution to end the conflict in Lebanon between Israel and Iran-aligned Hezbollah, while calling for the protection of civilians.
US and Israeli officials are set to restart talks for a ceasefire and the release of hostages in Gaza in the coming days. Investors globally are piling into the US dollar and betting on rising volatility ahead of these next crucial two weeks leading up to the Nov. 5 election in the US, as well as an election in Japan, and three major central banks deciding on interest rates and the UK government presenting its new budget.
Asian spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) recorded its second weekly gain since the end of August, amid concerns over supply disruptions due to geopolitical tensions and lower feedgas volumes at US terminals undergoing planned maintenances.
The average LNG price for December delivery into north-east Asia rose to $13.80 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), up from $13.50 per mmBtu last week, industry sources estimated.
Asian prices also tracked European gas prices at the Dutch TTF hub, which hit a 10-month high on concerns over supply disruption due to geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and in Ukraine. TTF has a slight premium over Japan Korea Marker (JKM) when corrected for shipping and insurance.
In Europe, delivered LNG prices rose over the week, lifted by gains at downstream gas hubs which came from several drivers including an unplanned outage at Norway's Sleipner field and adjustments to heating demand expectations for later this month and through November.
In the US, natural gas futures climbed about 2% to a two-week high on Friday on lower output so far this month and a jump in global gas prices that could boost demand for more US LNG exports.
Front-month gas futures for November delivery settled at $2.56 per mmBtu, putting the front-month up about 13% last week after it fell about 22% over the prior three weeks.
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