ALBAWABA – Oil prices slipped on Monday against a firmer United States (US) dollar as Israeli occupation forces stepped up the ongoing genocide in Gaza amid intensifying diplomatic efforts to prevent the situation from spiralling into a regional war.
Brent crude futures fell $0.24, or 0.26 percent, to $91.92 a barrel, as of 0837 GMT, according to Reuters, and West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down $0.36, or 0.41 percent, at $87.72 a barrel.
Both benchmarks traded over $1 a barrel lower than their previous settlement price at their lowest in Monday's session, despite having climbed significantly last week.
Markets are on edge, Bloomberg reported, as Israeli air strikes battered the besieged Gaza Strip early on Monday, with the US dispatching more military assets to the region.
US Treasuries are also at the forefront of the market trend, with 10-year yields around 4.982 percent, having briefly popped above 5 percent last week.
Oil prices are affected by the strength of the US dollar as it is the primary international settlement currency in oil trade - Shutterstock
The US dollar index strengthened by a fraction to 106.23, with the euro down 0.1 percent at $1.0586, and the sterling flat at $1.21620, the New York-based news agency reported.
Since mid-July, the trade-weighted dollar index is up 6.7 percent but has been nearly steady this month, Reuters reported, with marginal fluctuation along a narrow range.
Meanwhile, the Israeli land invasion of Gaza has been put off in order to buy time for the release of hostages in Hamas’ custody, Bloomberg said. But an Israeli incursion was repelled yesterday, Sunday, by members of Hamas’ military branch, the Al-Qassam Brigades, AlJazeera reported.
Two bulldozers and a tank were destroyed, and a number of Israeli casualties were confirmed by occupation authorities, with at least one soldier dead.
On the northern front, the occupation army has been exchanging projectiles with the Lebanese Hizbollah group, whose bombing of multiple Israeli sites resulted in at least two casualties.
The genocide in Gaza, with multiple regional players holding stakes in the conflict, could easily and suddenly escalate into a full-blown regional war, with global powers involved. Any such escalation could disrupt oil supplies from the crude-rich Middle East and Gulf regions.
