oil futures finished higher on thursday with us prices settling at their highest in about three weeks the mood of the market has shifted because of clarity from the federal reserve said phil flynn senior market analyst at the price futures group the market was concerned that the fed would be too aggressive and now we know where the fed stands and that rates arent going to rise tomorrow oil traders also seem less concerned about potential omicronrelated restrictions in europe he said tensions between russia and ukraine are also supportive for oil as that raises the potential for sanctions on russia that could disrupt its energy sector he added january west texas intermediate crude clf22 rose 151 or 21 to settle at 7238 a barrel on the new york mercantile exchange the highest frontmonth contract finish since nov 24 according to factset data