Oil prices rose Friday as anti-government clashes in the Middle East kept worries of oil supply disruptions alive ahead of the Presidents Day holiday weekend.
Closer to home, motorists planning trips during the three-day weekend found gas pump prices about 54 cents higher than a year ago, with prices for a gallon of regular ranging nationally from $2.958 to $3.752.
The national average for a gallon of regular was $3.156 on Friday, according to AAA, Wright Express and the Oil Price Information Service.
In Denver, pump prices rose to $2.976 Friday, up nearly 3 cents from a week ago.
Instability in the Middle East was the biggest worry for most energy traders on Friday. Troops in Bahrain confronted thousands of protesters calling for an end to the country’s monarchy. In Libya, Moammar Gaddafi’s regime deployed security forces and warned citizens against joining the unrest in which dozens of protesters have been killed. Protests also continued in Yemen for an eighth day.
“With a long weekend ahead of them, traders were concerned that they could return on Tuesday to a world that could conceivably be changed from the one left behind,” said analysts at U.S. energy consultancy Cameron Hanover.
Benchmark West Texas Intermediate oil for April delivery rose 87 cents to settle at $89.71 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for March delivery lost 7 cents to settle at $102.52 on the ICE Futures exchange in London.
