New York, (EFE) – The price of Petroleum Texas Intermediate (WTI) closed this Friday with a rise of 3.12% and stood at 109.33 dollars a barrel in another day of volatility that has dominated the markets since the invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces.
According to data at the end of operations on the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex), WTI futures contracts for delivery in April totaled 3.31 dollars compared to the previous closing.
The benchmark US barrel has seen great volatility this week given the fluid situation in Ukraine, as investors try to assess how disruptions in product supply will affect the market, hit, among other factors, by the ban of the US to buy crude oil from Russia.
Although Friday’s session began with an almost imperceptible price variation, throughout the day sharp rises and falls in price continued to be recorded, reaching 109.92 at its maximum level and falling to 104.48 at its minimum level.
Specifically, this Friday the market was affected by the latest action against Russia after the G7 bloc assured that it would withdraw the favorable trade deal with Moscow.
“We will ensure that the products of Russian companies do not receive favorable trade treatment in our economies,” the leaders of the G7, which is made up of the United States, Germany, Canada, France, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom, announced in a statement. .
Texas oil was also influenced by the possibility that nuclear talks with Iran might not resume after a last-minute request from Russia.
Despite the gains on Friday, crude oil has not been able to recover from the previous two days of losses, especially that of Wednesday, when it fell more than 12%, so it closes the week with an accumulated decrease of 4.92%. since Monday.
Meanwhile, natural gas contracts for April delivery added more than 9 cents to $4.73 per thousand cubic feet, and gasoline contracts due the same month rose 15 cents to $3.31 a gallon. .
