Oil Surges Amid Geopolitical Tensions

Investing.com – U.S. crude oil prices surged on Friday, as tensions between the U.S. and Turkey escalated and the International Energy Agency warned against a possible cooling in the market.

West Texas surged 1.08% to $67.53 a barrel as of 10:10 AM ET (14:10 GMT). Meanwhile, futures, the benchmark for oil prices outside the U.S., increased 0.82% to $72.67.

U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Friday that he would double tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Turkey, as the two countries face a diplomatic conflict.

Earlier in the day, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan urged citizens to sell U.S. dollars and gold for lira, after a meeting between Turkish and U.S. officials lead to no solution over the detention of a U.S. pastor in Turkey.

In other news, the IEA warned that upcoming oil sanctions against Iran could bring turmoil to the market later in the year. U.S. sanctions targeting Iranian oil are expected in early November and could increase the potential of a global energy supply shortage.

Many countries, including Europe, China and Russia, oppose the sanctions, but the White House wants other countries to stop buying oil from Iran.

“As oil sanctions against Iran take effect, perhaps in combination with production problems elsewhere, maintaining global supply might be very challenging and would come at the expense of maintaining an adequate spare capacity cushion,” the IEA said.

Oil prices have been driven higher in the past few months as demand for oil outsrips supply, but cooled in recent weeks amid trade tensions and supply disruptions.

Traders are also looking ahead to the Baker Hughes oil rig count, a leading indicator of demand for oil products, which comes out at 1:00 PM ET (15:00 GMT).

In other energy trading, rose 1.65% at $2.0345 a gallon, while rose 1.10% to $2.1351 a gallon. were down 0.61% to $2.937 per million British thermal units.

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