The price of U.S. crude oil drops over 2% as Qatar's prime minister calls on Iran to delay an attack on Israel.

• The Washington Post reported that Qatar's prime minister urged Iran's leader to stop attacking Israel during ongoing cease-fire negotiations in Doha.
• The talks are set to resume Friday.

On Friday, U.S. crude oil futures dropped by 3% due to news that Qatar advised Iran to refrain from attacking Israel during ongoing Gaza cease-fire negotiations.

The prime minister of Qatar spoke with Iran's leaders in a phone call following the first day of Gaza cease-fire talks in Doha on Thursday, urging them to de-escalate and warning of the potential consequences of attacking Israel as progress is being made in the negotiations, according to two diplomats who spoke to The Washington Post.

Here are Friday's energy prices:

• U.S. crude oil has gained 6.2% year to date, despite a decrease in the September contract price from $78.13 to $76.13 per barrel, which represents a 2.58% decline.
• The September contract price per barrel is $79.15, a decrease of $1.91 or 2.36%, while the global benchmark is leading the way with a 2.7% increase year to date.
• The price of gasoline in September is $2.31 per gallon, which is a decrease of 4 cents or 1.81%. However, year to date, gasoline prices have increased by 10.2%.
• The September contract price for gas is $2.16 per thousand cubic feet, which is a decrease of 3 cents or 1.32%. To date, gas prices have decreased by 13.7% yearly.

John Kirby, the White House national security spokesperson, stated that the cease-fire talks are scheduled to resume on Friday.

On Monday, the U.S. benchmark surged over 4% due to concerns that an imminent attack by Iran on Israel was impending. Following the assassination of a Hamas leader in Tehran in late July, Iran has pledged to retaliate.

The market has been affected by concerns about softening oil demand in China and the possibility of prices being pulled back.

According to Matt Smith, lead oil analyst for the Americas at Kpler, the pendulum of price influence continues to swing between fundamentals and geopolitics, with today's selloff appearing to be driven by negotiations in the Middle East and an ongoing lack of retaliation by Iran.