DTN Oil Update

Barani Krishnan
DTN Refined Fuels Market Reporter

SECAUCUS, NJ (DTN) -- Crude prices hit seven-month highs Friday on the increasing prospect of U.S. military action against Iran, after U.S. President Donald Trump said force may be necessary to get OPEC's fourth-largest producer to abandon its nuclear program.

"I'd love not to use it but sometimes you have to," Trump told reporters when asked whether he was considering the use of force, after three rounds of talks between U.S. and Iranian negotiators had failed to produce a nuclear deal.

Multiple outlets had reported earlier that Trump was set to convene with senior advisors later in the day to discuss the potential of limited strikes on Iranian military and nuclear facilities. "We want no nuclear weapons by Iran and they're not saying those golden words," the president said when asked about this, adding that he was not happy with the situation, even if talks were to continue.

Fears of an imminent strike on Iran have obscured the bearish fundamentals for crude arising from this week's inventory data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. U.S. commercial crude oil inventories rose by 16 million bbl last week, registering their biggest weekly stockpile growth in three years.

At Friday's close, NYMEX WTI crude for April delivery settled up $1.81, or 2.8%, at $67.02 bbl. WTI's session peak of $67.83 was the highest since August 1, when it hit $69.58. The U.S. crude benchmark rose 0.8% on the week, adding to the prior week's rise of 6%.

The ICE Brent crude contract for April settled up $1.73, or 2.5%, at $72.48 bbl after an intraday peak of $73, the highest since July 31, when it reached $73.53. The global crude benchmark rose about 2% on the week, extending last week's 6% advance.

Downstream, front-month RBOB futures climbed $0.0456 to $2.0779 gallon, while ULSD futures perked up by $0.058 to $2.6709 gallon.

The U.S. Dollar Index slipped by 0.205 points to 97.535 against a basket of foreign currencies.