Oil benchmarks dip

TOKYO/SINGAPORE- Oil prices eased on Tuesday as the top US diplomat renewed efforts to push for a ceasefire in the Middle East and as slowing demand growth in China, the world’s top oil importer, continued to weigh on the market.

Brent crude futures for December delivery were down 19 cents, or 0.3 percent, at $74.1 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures for November delivery were 18 cents lower at $70.43 a barrel on the contract’s last day as the front month.

The more actively traded WTI futures for December which will soon become the front month, lost 14 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $69.9 per barrel.

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Both Brent and WTI settled nearly 2 percent higher on Monday, recouping some of last week’s more than 7 percent decline, with no letup of fighting in the Middle East and the market still nervous about Israel’s expected retaliation against Iran potentially leading to a disruption of oil supply.

Monday’s gains can be attributed to technical profit-taking and short covering given oil’s bearish trend with forecasts pointing towards softer demand and oversupplied oil markets, said Priyanka Sachdeva, senior analyst at Phillip Nova, a brokerage firm.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken headed to the Middle East on Monday seeking to revive talks to end the Gaza war and defuse the spillover conflict in Lebanon.

“Crude oil prices have been fluctuating in response to mixed news from the Middle East, as the situation alternates between escalation and de-escalation,” Satoru Yoshida, a commodity analyst with Rakuten Securities.

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