CRUDE WRAP: WTI (U6) SETTLE USD 3.54 HIGHER AT USD 82.49/BBL; BRENT (U6) SETTLES USD 3.87 HIGHER AT USD 88.10/BBL

The crude complex ended the final trading session of the week with notable gains, given the latest attacks in the Middle East show no sign of stopping soon. Overnight, the US struck Iran for a sixth consecutive night, and after that, Iran claimed that power facilities, bridges and civilian infrastructure were struck. In response, Iran launched its own strikes on Gulf neighbours, alongside some punchy rhetoric from a spokesman. In the European morning, benchmarks saw gains on a couple of headlines: 1) UKMTO reported incidents off the coast of Oman and Yemen; 2) and on the latter, Reuters reported that armed individuals boarded a chemicals products tanker. Thereafter, WTI and Brent ground higher to settle at peaks, and saw another fillip amid Axios reports, citing sources, that the Trump admin is sending dozens of additional refueling planes to Israel in preparation for a potential expansion of military operations against Iran, although N12 denied this report. Ahead, participants await any escalations or a move closer back to peace over the weekend as Trump threatened escalatory strikes next week if Iran doesn't come to peace talks. For the record, the weekly Baker Hughes rig count saw oil jump 7 to 452, with natgas unchanged at 126, leaving the total up 7 to 588.