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Oil prices lose most of their gains upon settlement
The gains in oil prices diminished at settlement, after rising by more than three dollars in early trading on Friday, April 19, after reports of explosions in the Iranian city of Isfahan amid indications of an Israeli attack in response to an Iranian operation against it with marches and missiles at the beginning of the week.
But Iran's downplaying of the attacks on its territory, in an indication of the possibility of avoiding an escalation of hostilities in the Middle East, reduced oil's gains later in today's trading.
US crude futures rose 41 cents, or 0.50%, to settle at $83.14 per barrel.
Brent crude futures rose 18 cents, or 0.21%, to reach $87.29 per barrel upon settlement.
Prices have fallen by about 3% since Monday, April 15, achieving their largest weekly loss since February.
Explosions were heard in the Iranian city of Isfahan today in what sources described as an Israeli attack, but Tehran downplayed the incident and indicated that it had no plans to respond.
“It (the attack) was just a big show, so the markets fell as quickly as they rose,” said Tim Snyder, an economist at Matador Economics, according to Reuters.
Investors have been closely watching Israel's response to the Iranian drone attacks on April 13, which came in response to a suspected Israeli airstrike on April 1 on the Iranian embassy compound in Damascus.
