Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters
The flow of crude oil is seen in a container while an oilfield worker works on a drilling rig at an oil well operated by Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA
- West Texas Intermediate crude oil hit the highest level since 2014 early Friday morning.
- The surge comes after a volatile week in the Middle East.
- Follow oil prices in real time here.
Oil prices jumped to a three-year high early Friday morning.
West Texas Intermediate crude rose to $67.76 a barrel - a peak going back to December 2014 - around 5 a.m. ET before falling back below $67.00. Brent crude oil, the international benchmark, was trading at $72.30.
The uptick in prices came on the back of heightening tensions in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia, the biggest oil exporter, reportedly shot down at least three ballistic missiles sent by pro-Iranian Yemens on Wednesday.
President Donald Trump vowed a missile strike on the Assad regime that same day and also taunted Russia, who has said it would shield Syria from such an attack.
Both West Texas Intermediate and Brent are up more than 5% on the week. Brent hit a three-year high Wednesday as it climbed nearly 2% to $73.09, the highest level since November 2014.
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