Most crude oil and gasoline futures contracts were modestly higher near midday Friday, while ULSD contracts continued to struggle.

The NYMEX April West Texas Intermediate contract was up by 38cts, or about 0.6%, to $66.93/bbl at about 11:30 a.m. ET and the May WTI contract was 36cts higher at $66.63/bbl. The front-month contract settled a week ago at $67.04/bbl and moved above that level in morning trading before retreating some ahead of midday.

The May Brent contract was up by 35cts to $70.22/bbl, leaving it down about 16cts week to week to week. The June Brent contract was 31cts higher at $69.71/bbl.

Gasoline futures also backed off earlier highs and the lightly traded April contract was down by 0.02ct to $2.1333/gal, while the more active May contract was up by 0.22ct to $2.1379/gal. The April RBOB contract was up by about 2.5cts from where it settled a week ago.

ULSD contracts are on track for a second day of declines, with the April contract off by 1.06cts to $2.1516/gal and the May contract down by 1.05cts to $2.1239/gal.

Energy prices have posted wide swings this week as market volatility continues on heightened economic uncertainty as President Trump moves ahead with plans to impose tariffs on imports from various countries.

Traders have also been keeping a close eye on efforts to reach a ceasefire in Russia's war with Ukraine that could lead to more Russian petroleum exports.

Prices, however, are receiving some support from Energy Information Administration supply and demand data on Wednesday that showed strong U.S. gasoline demand and continued weakness in the dollar, which is making dollar-denominated energy contracts less expensive for traders using foreign currencies.

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 Steve Cronin, scronin@opisnet.com; Editing by Jeff Barber, jbarber@opisnet.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 14, 2025 12:31 ET (16:31 GMT)

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