Oil Updates — crude markets stabilize as Israel-Iran conflict doesn’t impair oil flows
LONDON: Oil prices edged down on Monday, after surging 7 percent on Friday, as renewed military strikes by Israel and Iran over the weekend left oil production and export facilities unaffected.
Brent futures were down 95 cents, or 1.26 percent, to $73.28 a barrel by 3:15 p.m. Saudi time, while US WTI futures were off $1 or 1.37 percent, to $71.98.
Both benchmarks jumped more than $4 a barrel in Asian trading before giving back gains. They settled 7 percent higher on Friday, having surged more than 13 percent during the session to their highest levels since January.
“It all boils down to how the conflict escalates around energy flows,” said Harry Tchilinguirian, group head of research at Onyx Capital Group. “So far, production capacity and export capacity have been spared and there hasn’t been any effort on the part of Iran to impair flows through the Strait of Hormuz.”
