The price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil opened higher on Friday, rising 2.06% to $86.77 per barrel, as tensions escalate in the Middle East. However, tensions moderated and the barrel is trading now at $86.15.

WTI futures contracts for May gained $1 compared to the previous session’s close.

Early in the session, it reached a session high of $87.60 per barrel. Crude oil is likely to find support at $84.55 and resistance at $87.60.

The Dollar Index Futures, which tracks the dollar’s trend against the basket of the other six major currencies, rose by 0.76% to trade at $105.86.

On the ICE, Brent crude for June delivery increased by 2.54% to $92.02 per barrel, while the spread between Brent and WTI crude contracts remains above $4.57 per barrel.

The fear of a possible direct attack from Iran this weekend, in what would be the most significant escalation of tensions in the Middle East since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas six months ago, has caused the price of black gold to rise again.

Geopolitical tensions, especially after an attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus attributed to Israel, in which several high-ranking members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard were killed, have been key for investors in recent days.

Yesterday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken held a round of calls with his counterparts from Turkey, China, and Saudi Arabia in an attempt to dissuade Iran from launching an attack against Israel.

Meanwhile, natural gas futures for May were trading at $1.77 per million British thermal units (MMBtu). As of this report, they are up 0.34%.

Early in the session, it reached a session high of $1.77 per MMBtu. Natural gas is likely to find support at $1.744 and resistance at $1.942.