Why is the Woodside share price smashing it on Friday?

The Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) share price is leaping higher today, up 4.1% at the time of writing.

Woodside shares closed yesterday trading for $32.65 and are currently trading for $34.00 apiece.

It's a good day for the Aussie markets overall, with the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) currently up 1.6%.

But like the Woodside share price, most energy stocks are outperforming today, with the S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) up 3.4% at this same time.

This comes on the heels of a big up day in US markets yesterday (overnight Aussie time).

That charge higher counterintuitively followed surprisingly high inflation data out of the world's top economy.

Those gains look to have been fuelled by overleveraged short-sellers, caught out by the market upswing, finding themselves forced to cover their shorts.

But why is the Woodside share price outperforming?

Why are ASX energy shares leaping higher?

The Woodside share price and most ASX energy shares look to be benefiting from a solid uptick in oil prices.

International benchmark Brent crude oil is up 2.3% overnight, currently trading for US$94.57 per barrel. That's up from the recent 26 September lows of US$84 per barrel.

Investors may be looking ahead to the supply cuts recently announced by OPEC+.

The two million barrel per day reduction, which in reality will take some one million barrels per day out of global markets as many OPEC+ nations are already producing well below their caps, takes effect on 1 November.

The cartel is aiming to keep crude prices above US$90 per barrel, which would certainly offer some strong tailwinds for the Woodside share price.

Oil prices also appear to have gotten a boost from the latest US Energy Information Administration report.

While there was a 9.9 million barrel increase in the nation's crude inventories, drawdowns from the US strategic petroleum reserves (SPR) and distillate stockpiles pointed to potential looming tight supplies.

Commenting on that report, Matt Sallee, portfolio manager at Tortoise, said (courtesy of Bloomberg):

It's a super bearish headline, but if you look at the underlying data, it tells a different story. The combination of a big distillate draw, another big SPR draw and then a reversal in the exports. I think if you back those things out, this was probably a more bullish report.

Woodside share price snapshot

With Brent crude oil prices up 22% in 2022, the Woodside share price has rocketed 50%. That's in a year that's seen the ASX 200 fall 11%.