Oil prices fall as peace hopes offset fears of growing Middle East conflict
Oil prices fell on Thursday, paring gains made a day earlier, as hopes for peace talks took the edge off renewed concerns over Middle East supply disruptions from escalating regional conflict.
Brent crude futures declined $1.22, or 1.1%, to $114.10 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down $1.33, or 1.3%, at $101.45.
Brent rose 1.3%, and WTI gained 3% on Wednesday.
Oil prices fell on Thursday, paring gains made a day earlier, as hopes for peace talks took the edge off renewed concerns over Middle East supply disruptions from escalating regional conflict.
Brent crude futures declined $1.22, or 1.1%, to $114.10 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down $1.33, or 1.3%, at $101.45.
Brent rose 1.3%, and WTI gained 3% on Wednesday.
The Houthis attacked Aden airport on Wednesday, Yemeni government forces said.
The attack came a day after the Houthis said they hit Saudi Arabia’s biggest oil refinery with a missile, stepping up strikes against the world’s second-largest crude producer after the United States.
Saudi authorities did not immediately confirm the strike on the 550,000-barrel-per-day facility.
Qatari mediators have presented Iran with a new draft deal to end the war with the US and Israel, an official briefed on the negotiations said, but a senior Iranian official dismissed it as unacceptable ideas that did not amount to an offer.
Iran’s foreign minister said on Wednesday Tehran continued to give diplomacy a chance to succeed and flagged the possibility of completing its seven-day plan in less than a week if adopted.
Some expectations of rising crude and diesel production from Russia weighed further on market sentiment and prices.
“Since the October 15 strike on the Ryazan refinery, there have been no further confirmed attacks on Russian refining infrastructure,” JPMorgan analysts said in a note last night.
“The silence has allowed Russian refinery runs to rebound by 350 kbd last week to 4 mbd.”
“Higher runs would also allow Russia to lift crude production by a broadly comparable amount, reversing part of the recent decline that pushed output to 8.4 mbd—its lowest level since 2003 … (but) higher crude production would not necessarily translate into higher crude exports.”
The US Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday that energy firms pulled 1.9 million barrels of crude from storage during the week ended October 23, versus analysts’ forecast of a 15,000-barrel build in a Reuters poll.
But gasoline stockpiles rose by 3.9 million barrels, against analysts’ expectations for a draw of 0.9 million barrels.