The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is having a decent, if uninspiring, day of trading so far this Friday. At the time of writing, the ASX 200 has gained a tentative 0.1% at around 7,120 points. But it's the Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) share price that is really showing the ASX 200 how it's done this Friday.
Woodside shares are having a stellar end to the week. The ASX 200 oil share is currently up a very pleasing 4.91% at $33.74.
So how is it that Woodside shares are enjoying such a stellar end to the trading week?
Well, there's been no new news out of Woodside itself today, or indeed this month so far. But most ASX 200 energy shares seem to have been invited to the same party.
Take the Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) share price. It's enjoying an even better day today, currently up 6.36% at $7.52 a share. Or Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT), presently up a robust 3.96% at $1.70.
This tells us that Woodside's gains are a sector-wide trend.
Thus, we can probably conclude that these moves can be placed at the feet of the single-largest factor that influences an ASX 200 oil share like Woodside – the price of crude oil itself.
Rising oil boosts the Woodside share price
As my Fool colleague James reported this morning, oil prices are indeed enjoying some sunshine today. As we covered this morning:
WTI crude oil price is up 2% to US$89.91 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is up 2.3% to US$95.83 a barrel. Traders were bidding oil higher after data showed that US crude stocks fell materially more than expected last week.
So it's perhaps no surprise that energy and oil shares are booming today. Rising oil prices instantly makes oil drillers like Woodside more profitable, which, of course, is great news for investors.
This latest rise means that the Woodside share price is now up a pleasing 49% in 2022 thus far.
At the current Woodside share price, this ASX 200 energy share has a market capitalisation of $61.16 billion, with a dividend yield of 5.54%.
