Crude oil lost some of the ground it gained the previous day, when it rose sharply on fears of an escalating regional conflict.
International prices of Petroleum They gave up some of the ground gained in the previous day and at the start of Thursday’s session, due to the critical geopolitical situation in Middle East and the possible and expected interest rate cuts in USA.
In the square of Londonthe price of a barrel of Brent North Sea crude oil for delivery in October, on its first day of use as a reference contract, fell 1.63% to close at $79.52.
On his side, in NYthe barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) —the US equivalent— for delivery that same month fell 2.05% to trade at $76.31.
Markets are worried after the assassination of Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyehon Wednesday in Tehran during a bombing attributed to Israel by the Palestinian Islamist movement and by Iran, which has vowed to avenge his death.
This event, as well as the Israeli attack that killed nearly 1,000 people on Tuesday, Beirut to the military leader of the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah, Fouad Chokrraise fears of an escalation in the conflict that has been going on for almost ten months in the Gaza Strip between Israel —Iran’s sworn enemy—and Hamas, which is supported by Tehran.
Investors fear the escalation of a regional conflict in the Middle East
This led investors to buy Petroleum “to protect against escalation and retaliation that could have a negative effect on oil production in the region,” Tamas Varga of the consultancy PVM Energy told AFP.
“The market is trying to gauge whether this will lead to disruptions in oil production,” said Andy Lipow of Lipow Oil Associates, who also noted that the increase recorded the day before had “faded” due to the events.
Source: Ambito
