Petroleum futures were higher midday Friday and are set to end the week on the plus side as gains in the U.S. equity markets amid strong corporate earnings prompted energy investors to step up buying.
At 11:45 a.m. ET, December Nymex West Texas Intermediate crude contracts gained 90cts to around $71.10/bbl, and January WTI was up 90cts to $70.70.
London-based December ICE Brent futures climbed 95cts to about $75.35/bbl and January Brent rose 95cts to $74.95.
For the week, both oil benchmarks are on track to post gains of $1-2/bbl, helped by underlying worries over a wider Middle East conflict and supply worries.
December Nymex RBOB, which has the highest trading volume, was 2.6cts higher at around $2.0185/gal, and the front-month November RBOB contract increased 2.75cts to $2.0550/gal. December ULSD was up about 2.55cts to $2.2385/gal and November ULSD gained 2.45cts to $2.227/gal.
Around midday, major U.S. equity indexes were notably higher led by a string of recent upbeat earnings, as about 75% of the S&P 500 companies that have reported third-quarter earnings have beat Wall Street expectations.
On Thursday, Valero Energy reported sharply lower income and refining margins in the third quarter, blaming a heavy maintenance schedule and weak margins industrywide. Company executives, however, said they are optimistic that the refined product market will improve.
This content was created by Oil Price Information Service, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. OPIS is run independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
--Reporting by Frank Tang, ftang@opisnet.com; Editing by Michael Kelly, mkelly@opisnet.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
10-25-24 1217ET
