Oil
US crude futures climbed 12% on Friday as disruptions to global oil supplies continue due to the expanding US-Israeli war with Iran.
Brent crude futures settled at $92.69, and US West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) finished at $90.90. For the week, Brent rose 27.9%, while WTI rose 35.6%.
The conflict has spread across the Middle East's key energy-producing areas, disrupting output and forcing shutdowns of refineries and liquefied natural gas plants.
About 20% of global oil demand normally passes through the Strait of Hormuz each day. With the Strait effectively closed for seven days, roughly 140mn barrels of oil, equivalent to about 1.4 days of global demand, have been unable to reach the market.
Gas
Asia spot liquefied natural gas prices more than doubled compared to last week and reached their highest level in over three years after a production halt by Qatar, which provides 20% of global LNG supply, has resulted in a scramble for gas.
The average LNG price for April delivery into north-east Asia was $22.50 per million British thermal units, down from $10.40 per mmBtu the week before.
The market repriced sharply last week as it absorbed Qatari shut-ins and restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz. With little marginal supply available, US cargoes are likely to reroute to Asia as arbitrage opens and prices there command a premium over Europe.
In Europe, the Dutch TTF gas price settled at $18.07 per mmBtu on Friday, posting a weekly gain of over 60%. Europe appears to be losing the bidding war with Asian competitors over US cargoes.
