Modest gains in crude oil prices were recorded Wednesday as prices for Brent and WTI remained near a one-week high. Oklahoma energy stocks also made a strong showing.
Investors and traders remained worried about oil supply disruptions in Russia and the U.S. The market is still nervous about the outcome of peace talks to end the war in Ukraine. The Wednesday closings were the highest close for both benchmarks since Feb. 11.
In the U.S., West Texas Intermediate crude gained 40 cents or 0.6% to close at $72.25 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Brent crude went up 20 cent or 0.3% to reach $76.04 a barrel.
Natural gas had another bump upward in its prices, shooting up 6.81% on a 27 cent gain to settle at $4.28 per MMBtu.
Oklahoma energy stocks recorded another day of gains including a nearly 8% jump for Devon Energy Corp. after it released a strong fourth quarter earnings report. Empire Petroleum also had a 6% gain for the day.
