Crude oil futures rose more than 1% on Friday, but are on pace for a weekly loss as slowing demand in China weighs on the market.
U.S. crude is down 2.9% for the week, whileglobal benchmark Brent is down 1.4%.
“One thing that really is not factoring to oil prices right now is geopolitical risk,” Helima Croft, head of global commodity strategy at RBC Capital Markets, told CNBC’s “Fast Money” on Thursday.
“That has really evaporated from the market,” Croft said.
Here are Friday’s energy prices:
- West Texas Intermediate October contract: $74.39 per barrel, up $1.38, or 1.9%. Year to date, U.S. crude oil has gained 3.8%.
- Brent October contract: $78.46 per barrel, up $1.24, or 1.6%. Year to date, the global benchmark is ahead 1.9%.
- RBOB Gasoline September contract: $2.27 per gallon, up 3 cents, or 1.3%. Year to date, gasoline is up 8%.
- Natural Gas September contract: $2.015 per thousand cubic feet, down more than 3 cents, or 1.8%. Year to date, gas is down 20%.
Traders speculated for weeks that Iran would retaliate against Israel over the assassination of a Hamas leader in Tehran, raising fears of a wider war that disrupts supplies. But an attack has not materialized.
“The market has really refocused on these demand concerns,” Croft said. “Chinese demand concerns have really weighed on this market as well as broader concerns about the macro outlook,” she said.