April WTI crude oil (CLJ26) on Wednesday closed up +0.11 (+0.11%), and April RBOB gasoline (RBJ26) closed down -0.0249 (-0.80%). Crude oil and gasoline prices fell back from sharp gains and settled mixed on Wednesday. Energy prices initially rallied sharply on Wednesday, with gasoline soaring to a 3.5-year high. Escalation of the Iran war pushed crude prices higher on Wednesday after Iran said it will attack other Middle Eastern energy infrastructure targets in retaliation for US and Israeli attacks on Iran’s energy.
However, crude prices fell from their best levels on Wednesday after Saudi Arabia said it is ramping up crude exports that bypass the Strait of Hormuz. Saudi Arabia is rerouting oil through a pipeline to the western port of Yanbu on the Red Sea, with shipments averaging about 4.19 million bpd over the past five days, more than half the 7.0 million bpd the kingdom was exporting in total before the Iran war closed the Strait of Hormuz.
