Oil falls 8% on negotiation hopes

NEW YORK:

Oil prices dropped about 8% on Monday to the lowest in two weeks, as diplomatic efforts between Ukraine and Russia looked like they might end their conflict, which would boost global supplies, while a pandemic-linked travel ban in China cast doubt on the demand outlook. Brent futures fell $8.64, or 7.7%, to $104.03 a barrel by 1459 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell $8.74, or 8%, to $100.59. That puts both benchmarks on track for their lowest settlements since February 28. Both have surged since Russia’s February 24 invasion of Ukraine and are up roughly 34% so far this year. “Besides, new talks between Ukraine and Russia, I guess new lockdowns in China are the reason for a negative start of the week for crude oil,” said Giovanni Staunovo, an analyst at UBS bank.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 15^th, 2022.

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