Crude oil futures fell more than 4% on Tuesday as gains triggered by heightened geopolitical risks were paused as the market awaited Israel’s counterattack against Iran.
“Oil prices can only continue to rise, purely based on perceptions rather than actual supply disruptions,” Tamas Varga, an analyst at oil broker PVM, said in a note on Tuesday.
Oil prices have soared more than 7% since Tuesday’s close Iran launches approximately 180 ballistic missiles At a meeting in Israel last week, concerns were raised that Israel could retaliate by cracking down on Iran’s oil industry.
However, President Joe Biden has publicly stated A frustrated Israel to avoid attacking Iran’s oil infrastructure. Israel may first attack Iranian military and intelligence facilities, officials told the New York Times.
this jerusalem post It is also reported that Israel is expected to focus on military and intelligence facilities.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galante is scheduled to meet with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin at the Pentagon on Wednesday “to further discuss current security developments in the Middle East,” Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said. tell reporters at a press conference on Monday.
Here are Tuesday’s closing energy prices:
- West Texas Intermediate Oil November contract: US$73.57 per barrel, down US$3.57, or 4.63%. U.S. crude oil prices have risen more than 2% so far this year.
- Brent December contract: US$77.18 per barrel, down US$3.75, or 4.63%. Global benchmarks have seen little change so far this year.
- RBOB gasoline November contract: $2.0681/gallon, down 3.98%. So far this year, gasoline prices are down more than 1%.
- natural gas November contract: $2.733/thousand cubic feet, down 0.47%. So far this year, natural gas leads by nearly 9%.
“War warnings in the Middle East are prompting oil tourists to flock to towns and cities to buy oil,” Manish Raj, managing director of Velandera Energy Partners, told CNBC.
“Sophisticated oil investors have seen this movie before – these are the guys who sold on the war hype and bought back when prices normalized,” Raj said.
Markets are also disappointed with Chinese officials No new stimulus package announced at a press conference on Tuesday.
The recent escalation in the Middle East follows pessimism about weak demand from China, the world’s largest crude importer, and worries that oil supply will exceed demand in 2025. lowest level since December 2021.
“Ongoing concerns about demand from China persist due to a lack of stimulus, while the conflict in the Middle East has not resulted in any supply disruptions,” Svetlana Tretyakova, senior oil market analyst at Rystad Energy, told CNBC.
“The price decline may also reflect profit-taking after two weeks of gains rather than purely fundamental factors,” Tretyakova said.
