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US. crude oil futures climbed more than 12% \u200bon Friday, but remained under Brent as buyers sought available barrels, with Middle Eastern supply constrained by the effective closure \u200cof the Strait of Hormuz amid the expanding US.-Israeli war with Iran.<\/strong><\/p>\n Brent crude futures settled at $92.69 a barrel, up $7.28, or 8.52%. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) finished at $90.90 a barrel, up $9.89, or 12.21%.<\/p>\n It was the second straight day that gains in US. crude futures had outpaced those in the Brent contract.<\/p>\n \u201cRefiners and trading houses are searching for alternative barrels, \u200band the US. is the largest producer,\u201d said Giovanni Staunovo, an analyst with UBS. \u201cTo prevent inventories in the US. being reduced too \u200bquickly via too high exports, the spread is moving back to the transportation costs.\u201d<\/p>\n Janiv Shah, vice president of oil \u2060analytics at Rystad Energy, pointed to several factors for the divergence in gains on Thursday and Friday between WTI and Brent.<\/p>\n \u201cLooks like some \u200bpotential strength in US. Gulf Coast refinery runs on margins and arbs to Europe as well as Washington on futures,\u201d Shah said.<\/p>\n Crude oil was set \u200bon Friday for its strongest weekly gain since the extreme volatility of the COVID-19 pandemic in spring of 2020, as conflict in the Middle East kept shipping and energy exports through the vital Strait of Hormuz halted.<\/p>\n CRUDE OVER $100 A BARREL?<\/strong><\/p>\n Qatar\u2019s energy minister told the Financial Times he expects all Gulf energy producers to shut down exports within weeks, a move \u200bhe said could drive oil to $150 a barrel, according to an interview published on Friday.<\/p>\n \u201cThe worst-case scenario is developing before our eyes,\u201d John Kilduff, \u200ba partner at Again Capital said. \u201cI think the forecasts of $100 a barrel all are to come to true.\u201d<\/p>\n Oil started its steep rally after the US. and Israel \u200claunched strikes \u2060on Iran last Saturday, prompting Iran to stop tankers moving through the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n Oil supply equal to about 20% of world demand usually passes through this waterway each day. With the Strait now effectively closed for seven days, that means about 140 million barrels of oil \u2013 equal to about 1.4 days of global demand \u2013 has been unable to reach the market.<\/p>\n The conflict has spread across the Middle East\u2019s key energy-producing areas, disrupting output and \u200bforcing shutdowns of refineries and liquefied \u200bnatural gas plants.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery day the Strait \u2060stays closed, prices will go higher,\u201d Staunovo said. \u201cThe belief in the market was that Trump might pull back at some point because he doesn\u2019t want to have high oil prices, but the longer that takes, the \u200bclearer it is how much is at risk.\u201d<\/p>\n US. President Donald Trump told Reuters in an interview on Thursday that he \u200bwas not concerned \u2060about rising US. gasoline prices linked to the conflict, saying \u201cif they rise, they rise.\u201d<\/p>\n The possibility that the US. Treasury Department might take action to combat rising energy costs briefly pushed prices down by more than 1% early on Friday.<\/p>\n Losses narrowed after Bloomberg News reported that the Trump administration had ruled out using the \u2060Treasury Department \u200bto trade oil futures.<\/p>\n The Treasury on Thursday granted waivers for companies to buy sanctioned Russian \u200boil. The first waivers went to Indian refiners, who have since bought millions of barrels of Russian crude.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n