NEW YORK / Content Syndication Services / — Oil prices jumped more than 3 percent Friday, closing a volatile week with strong gains as traders focused on continued disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz and tighter petroleum inventories. Brent crude settled 3.35 percent higher at $109.26 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate rose 4.2 percent to $105.42. For the week, Brent advanced nearly 8 percent and WTI climbed 10.5 percent, marking one of the strongest weekly moves for crude benchmarks this year.
The rally reflected a market still responding to restricted tanker movement through a waterway that is central to global crude and liquefied natural gas trade. The Strait of Hormuz links Gulf producers with major consumers in Asia, Europe and beyond, making disruptions there a direct factor in international energy pricing. Oil markets have remained elevated since late February, when conflict in the region sharply reduced normal shipping flows and disrupted exports from several Gulf producers.
Crude prices moved higher alongside broader inflation concerns, with energy costs remaining a key input for transport, manufacturing and consumer fuel prices. Equity markets in the United States, Europe and Asia fell Friday as investors assessed the effect of higher energy costs on inflation and monetary policy expectations. The crude rally also came as refined fuel markets showed signs of strain, with gasoline and distillate inventories in the United States remaining below normal seasonal levels.
Inventories tighten as prices climb
U.S. Energy Information Administration data showed commercial crude inventories fell by 4.3 million barrels in the week ended May 8 to 452.9 million barrels, about 0.3 percent below the five-year average for this time of year. Total commercial petroleum inventories declined by 5.1 million barrels. Gasoline inventories fell by 4.1 million barrels and stood 5 percent below the five-year average, while distillate stocks rose slightly but remained about 9 percent below that benchmark.
Refinery activity increased during the same reporting week, with U.S. crude inputs averaging 16.4 million barrels per day, up 369,000 barrels per day from the previous week. Refineries operated at 91.7 percent of capacity. Gasoline production increased to an average of 9.8 million barrels per day, while distillate fuel production decreased to 4.8 million barrels per day. Crude imports averaged 5.9 million barrels per day, up 424,000 barrels per day from the prior week.
Global oil supply losses remain central
The International Energy Agency said global oil supply fell by a further 1.8 million barrels per day in April to 95.1 million barrels per day, bringing total losses since February to 12.8 million barrels per day. It said output from Gulf countries affected by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz was 14.4 million barrels per day below prewar levels. Observed global oil inventories drew down by 129 million barrels in March and by another 117 million barrels in April.
The latest price move leaves oil markets anchored by a combination of higher benchmark crude prices, reduced Gulf export flows and lower commercial stockpiles in major consuming regions. Brent remains the global benchmark for much of the world’s traded crude, while WTI is the main U.S. benchmark. Friday’s settlement placed both contracts firmly above levels seen earlier in the month and extended weekly gains driven by confirmed supply losses, inventory draws and constrained shipping through a critical energy corridor.