Oil Prices Hold Steady Amidst Blinken's Middle East Visit

6 Feb 2024 , 10:19 AM

Early on Tuesday, as market players evaluated U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s travel to the Middle East to discuss a ceasefire offer in the region, oil prices showed minimal movement.

On Monday, Blinken met the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia. In anticipation of an Israeli attack on Rafah, a border city where over half of the Gaza Strip’s population is seeking refuge, the Palestinians believe that the visit would seal a ceasefire.

The ceasefire proposal was presented to Hamas by mediators from Qatar and Egypt last week. The militants are awaiting a response, stating that they require additional assurances that the four-month-old conflict will finish.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude prices were down 3 cents to $72.75, while Brent crude futures were down 2 cents at $77.97 a barrel. On Monday, both contracts increased by almost 1%, marking the first session-long rise in four.

The Houthis, who are supported by Iran and have disrupted international oil trade lines with their attacks on maritime vessels, are the target of an ongoing US effort in Yemen.

The biggest oil refinery in Russia’s south was hit by two Ukrainian drones on Saturday, a source in Kyiv told Reuters. The most recent in a string of long-range strikes on Russian oil installations, it has decreased the country’s exports of naphtha, a feedstock for petrochemicals.

Investors awaited industry data on U.S. crude stockpiles that was scheduled for release later on Tuesday. Crude stockpiles increased by almost 2.1 million barrels on average in the week leading up to February 2, according to five analysts surveyed by Reuters.

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