NEW YORK: Oil prices fell over a dollar a barrel on Monday after Israel reduced its troops in southern Gaza and began a fresh round of ceasefire talks with Hamas.

Brent crude futures fell $1.07, or 1.2 per cent, to $90.10 a barrel by 1:26 p.m. ET (1726 GMT). US West Texas Intermediate crude was down 85 cents, or 1pc, at $86.06.

Both benchmarks fell more than $2 earlier in the session, with investors focusing on Israel’s decision to withdraw more soldiers from southern Gaza on Sunday.

Also weighing on oil prices were expectations that US crude oil stocks likely rose last week, Staunovo said.

However, the decline in oil prices should be modest until it becomes clear how Iran will respond to the bombing of its consulate in Syria last week, he added.

The bombing, for which Tehran has said it will take revenge, heightened concerns that the Middle East conflict could broaden and have tangible impacts to oil supplies.

Published in Dawn, April 9th, 2024