The price of oil was trading higher by more than 2 percent Friday morning in reaction to President Donald Trump's ordering of a missile strike against a Syrian airbase believed to have been used to facilitate a chemical attack against civilians. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose $0.70 per barrel at $52.40 and traded as high as $52.94. Brent crude futures rose $0.68 per barrel at $55.57 and traded as high as $56.08, marking its highest level since March 7. While Syria's oil production on the global stage is minuscule and insignificant, oil investors are on edge as to what impacts this will pose for the entire oil-rich Middle East region. GasBuddy's senior petroleum analyst Patrick DeHaan commented in a press release that oil prices "hate turmoil," but it is still too early to understand how severe or how long the impact on oil prices will last.

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