Oil prices closed slightly lower, almost stable, reflecting a prudent attitude on the part of investorsAFP
Published 05/07/2024 18:45
Oil prices closed slightly lower this Tuesday (7), but close to stability, reflecting a prudent attitude on the part of investors in an uncertain geopolitical context.
The price of a North Sea Brent barrel, traded in London due in July, fell 0.20%, to $83.16. West Texas Intermediate (WTI), traded on the American market with maturity in June, fell 0.12%, to 78.38 dollars.
The day before, oil prices closed slightly higher, despite the news that the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas had approved the proposal for a truce in the war with Israel in Gaza, presented by mediators Egypt, Qatar and the United States.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, on the other hand, pointed out that the plan was “far from Israeli requirements.”
“Confusion reigns,” commented Susannah Streeter, analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, about the situation in the Middle East.
This Tuesday, the Israeli Army positioned tanks in Rafah and claimed to be carrying out an “anti-terrorist” operation east of this city in the south of the Gaza Strip.
For Commerzbank’s Carsten Fritsch, “the elimination of the geopolitical risk premium”, which drove prices to their lowest level in almost two months, “was premature”.
“If Israel invades Rafah, the question remains: what reaction will it provoke?”, considered Phil Flynn, from the Price Futures Group. “Will Iran attack? Will Hezbollah attack? Will the war expand? We don’t know,” he added.
For the expert, operators were more attentive to statements by Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister of Energy, Alexander Novak, who pointed out that there was still no decision on the possible renewal of production cuts by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC ) and its OPEC+ allies.
