(Photo by Menahem KAHANA / AFP)
The turmoil in the Middle East and the fighting between Ukrainian forces with Russia led to increased crude oil prices on Wednesday as they settled at their highest since late October.
Reuters reported that while investors were concerned about supply disruptions, an increase in US crude stocks eased some of the worries.
West Texas Intermediate crude gained 28 cents or 0.3% to settle at $85.43 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Global benchmark Brent crude went up 43 cents or 0.5% to finish at $89.35 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe.
Both contracts were up more than a dollar during the session, but pulled back after the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported a 3.2 million barrel increase in crude stocks, according to Reuters.
May natural gas fell 2 cents to $1.84 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Strong gains were recorded Wednesday by Oklahoma energy stocks including a 5% increase for Empire Petroleum and a 3% boost for SandRidge Energy and Ovintiv Inc.
Alliance Resource Partners, L.P.
Mach Natural Resources LP
Mammoth Energy Services Inc
Wednesday was a day of gains for other energy stocks as well, according to the Texas Energy Report.
APA Corp. (Apache) (APA) down 0.13 at 35.21 – change 0.37%
Cheniere (LNG) down 0.31 at 158.29 – change 0.20%
Chevron (CVX) up 0.66 at 160.44 – change 0.41%
ConocoPhillips (COP) up 0.96 at 131.63 – change 0.73%
Diamondback Energy (FANG) up 2.85 at 203.22 – change 1.42%
Energy Transfer LP (ET) up 0.22 at 16.00 – change 1.39%
Enterprise Products Partners (EPD) up 0.13 at 29.88 – change 0.43%
EOG Resources (EOG) up 1.54 at 133.78 – change 1.16%
Exxon Mobil (XOM) up 0.02 at 119.30 – change 0.01%
Kinder Morgan (KMI) up 0.13 at 18.55 – change 0.70%
Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO) up 0.71 at 29.50 – change 2.46%
NOV Inc. (NOV) up 0.08 at 20.10 – change 0.39%
Occidental Petroleum (OXY) up 0.45 at 67.70 – change 0.66%
Phillips 66 (PSX) up 3.22 at 172.71 – change 1.89%
Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD) up 0.28 at 269.73 – change 0.10%
Tellurian Inc. (TELL) down 0.01 at 0.57 – change 1.17%
Valero (VLO) up 3.15 at 180.37 – change 1.77%
CLOSING TOP UTILITY STOCKS
American Electric Power (AEP) down 0.88 at 84.33 – change 1.04%
CenterPoint (CNP) down 0.29 at 28.15 – change 1.02%
Entergy (ETR) down 0.87 at 104.40 – change 0.83%