Oil prices were falling early Monday after making sharp gains on Friday as traders noted that Israel’s ground invasion of Gaza has been restrained.
The concern is that the war between Israel and Hamas could spread to other countries in the Middle East, disrupting global supplies of crude. The region produces about a third of the world’s oil.
Oil prices had spiked more than 3% on Friday as Israel stepped up operations. So far neither Iran nor Saudi Arabia has become directly involved in the conflict.
Traders are also looking ahead to the Federal Reserve interest-rate decision this week, at which the central bank is expected to keep borrowing costs unchanged.
Separately, there will be data on manufacturing and services growth in China, the world’s second-biggest economy. A sluggish recovery this year in China has raised concerns that demand for energy may stay weaker; signs of strength in the economy could push prices higher.
West Texas Intermediate,
the U.S. benchmark, was down 1.5% at $84.28 a barrel.
Brent crude,
the international standard, fell 1.1% to $89.47 a barrel.
Write to Brian Swint at [email protected]
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