The risk of conflict in the Middle East is driving up the price of U.S. crude oil, potentially leading to a second consecutive increase.

• Since Iran hit Israel with ballistic missiles last week, oil prices have increased by more than 10% through Thursday's close.
• Despite uncertainty about Israel's response, the rally has calmed down.

On Friday, U.S. crude oil was set to achieve its second consecutive weekly increase, coinciding with Israel's preparation to respond to Iran's actions.

Since Iran hit Israel with ballistic missiles last week, oil prices have gained more than 10% through Thursday's close, with the U.S. benchmark gaining 1% this week and global benchmark Brent ahead 0.8%.

Despite the bullish price momentum in oil, maintaining it has proven to be a challenging task: without additional catalysts, the 'war' and 'stimulus' premiums have shown easy susceptibility to fading, as Natasha Kaneva, head of global commodity strategy at JP Morgan, informed clients in a Friday note.

Here are Friday's energy prices:

• The November contract price for crude oil is $75.21 per barrel, which represents a 64-cent decrease or 0.84% drop. To date, the US has experienced a nearly 5% increase in crude oil.
• The December contract price for oil is $78.77 per barrel, which is a decrease of 63 cents or 0.79%. In comparison, the global benchmark has risen approximately 2% year to date.
• The price of gasoline in November was $2.1414 per gallon, which represents a 0.44% decrease compared to the previous month. Year-to-date, gasoline prices have increased by 1.7%.
• The price of gas in November was $2.685 per gallon, which represents a 0.37% increase. To date, gas prices have risen approximately 6% throughout the year.

On Thursday, Israel's security cabinet convened to discuss the country's reaction to Iran's attack, as reported by the media. On Wednesday, President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had a phone conversation.

The White House has discouraged Israel from targeting Iran's oilfields and the Arab Gulf states have reportedly lobbied the White House to pressure Israel to refrain from hitting Iranian energy infrastructure.

Helima Croft, head of global commodities strategy at RBC Capital Markets, stated in a Thursday note that we anticipate the White House may be urging Israel to attack refineries rather than oil export facilities, as the economic impact would be more immediately felt by Iran.

Since April, Israel's response to Iran's first missile and drone attack was relatively muted, which may have weakened the U.S. influence, according to Croft.