Oil Prices Rise as Some Industries Shift from Gas

Oil prices rose on Friday, heading toward an increase of 4.5% over the week, due to signs that some industries are beginning to shift from using high-priced gas as fuel to oil. Brent crude futures jumped by 1.1% to $82.88 per barrel by 05:03 GMT. Meanwhile, U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures increased by 1.3% to $79.32 per barrel. This rise comes amidst doubts that the U.S. government will tap into its strategic oil reserves at this time. Vivek Dhar, an analyst at Commonwealth Bank, noted in a memo, "Oil prices increased after the U.S. Department of Energy stated that it does not have a plan at the moment to use the U.S. strategic oil reserves to temper the rise in oil prices." However, a source from the U.S. Department of Energy mentioned that a post on social media by a Bloomberg correspondent indicated that the department is not considering withdrawing from the strategic reserve "at this time," adding that all "options are always on the table" to address energy supply shortages.