Oil Prices Slip After Record Surge

7 Oct 2024 , 10:21 AM

Oil prices reversed gains in early trade on Monday after registering their greatest weekly climb in over a year on Friday amid rising worries of a region-wide war in the Middle East.

Brent crude futures slipped 43 cents, or 0.5%, to $77.62 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate oil futures fell 35 cents, or 0.5%, to $74.03 per barrel.

Last week, the Brent contract gained more than 8% on a weekly basis, the most in a week since January 2023, while the WTI contract gained 9.1% week on week, the highest since March 2023.

On Sunday, Israel struck Hezbollah targets in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip ahead of the one-year anniversary of Hamas’ October 7 strikes on Israel, which sparked the conflict. Its defence minister also stated that all options for reprisal against Iran remained available.

This happened after Iran conducted a missile attack on Israel last week in reaction to Israel’s actions in Lebanon and Gaza.

Meanwhile, Israeli police confirmed early Monday that Hezbollah rockets had targeted Haifa, Israel’s third-largest city.

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