ALBAWABA - After Israeli authorities claimed their intention to refrain from plunging the Middle East into a full-scale war in response to a fatal missile attack in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights over the weekend, oil prices dropped by nearly $1 per barrel on Monday.
U.S. crude saw a 2 percent loss, falling $1.52 to $75.64 per barrel, while September delivery Brent futures dropped $1.53, or 1.9 percent, to $79.60 a barrel, as investors showed little concern about the possibility of a broader conflict between Israel and Lebanese resistance Hezbollah.
Earlier on Saturday, twelve children were killed when a missile struck a football field in the Golan Heights, which is under Israeli occupation. Israel blames Hezbollah for the incident, but the armed opposition has openly denied involvement, claiming a failed Israeli Iron Dome missile was the culprit.
The administration of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was given permission by the Israeli security cabinet on Sunday to choose the "manner and timing" of the country's reaction to the claimed assault at the sports field, Reuters report.
On the other hand, August contracts for RBOB Gasoline dropped 1.39 percent, down 3 cents to $2.42 per gallon, while Natural Gas, which is down 21.88 percent year-to-date, saw a 2 percent drop, losing 4 cents to $1.96 per thousand cubic feet.
Alex Kuptsikevich, senior market analyst at FxPro, noted according to Market Watch that “Oil has so far failed to ride the favorable news background with the tightening geopolitical tensions in the Middle East,” adding that “In the second half of last week, reports of a 3.7 million [barrel] drop in commercial inventories to 436.5 million (-4.5% year over year) also failed to attract buyers.”
