Oil prices leapt nearly $4 Friday, with Brent on track for its highest weekly gain since April, as investors worried the conflict in the Middle East could widen after Israel warned half of Gaza's population to move south.
Brent futures rose $3.97, or 4.6%, to $89.97 per barrel as of 12:46 p.m. EDT . US West Texas Intermediate crude gained $3.88, or 4.7%, to $86.79 a barrel, after earlier breaking the $4 barrier.
The United Nations said Israel's military informed it late on Thursday that 1.1 million Palestinians in Gaza should relocate to the enclave's south within the next 24 hours, in what Palestinians fear could be a precursor to a planned Israeli ground offensive following a deadly Hamas militant attack. "The market is concerned because we don't know what that means. And could it impact oil?" said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Price Futures Group.
Russia is the world's second-largest oil producer and a major exporter and the tighter U.S. scrutiny of its shipments could curtail supply.
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