Oil Prices Revert in Early Trade

27 Aug 2024 , 10:29 AM

After rising more than 7% in the preceding three sessions due to supply concerns brought on by worries about a wider Middle East conflict and the shutdown of Libyan oil fields, oil prices paused their recent gains and declined in Asian trading on Tuesday.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude prices dropped 36 cents, or 0.46%, to $77.06 a barrel, while Brent crude futures declined 32 cents, or 0.39%, to $81.11 a barrel.

The expectations of U.S. interest rate cuts, which could increase fuel demand, military assaults between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon over the weekend, which pose a threat to a wider Middle East conflict and could disrupt supply from the key producing region, and the closures in Libya have caused the oil markets to slightly retreat after seeing sharp gains in the previous three sessions.

WTI gained 7.6% and Brent gained 7% throughout that time.

According to statistics from the most recent Reuters assessment of production by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries in July, that political issue may have an impact on as much as 1.17 million barrels per day of output from the North African nation.

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