2024-01-31T04:27:02+00:00
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/ Oil prices suffered losses of half a percentage point in early Asian trading on Wednesday, amid continued downward fundamentals, after gains in the previous session amid escalating conflict in the Middle East.
Brent crude futures for March delivery, which expire today, fell 37 cents, or 0.45 percent, to $82.50 a barrel by 03:26 GMT.
The most widely traded April contract fell 24 cents to $82.26 a barrel.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 35 cents to $77.47.
US President Joe Biden said he had decided how to respond to the attack without providing further details, but added that he wanted to avoid a wider war in the Middle East.
An armed group in Iraq announced on Tuesday the suspension of all military operations against US forces in the region.
The US Department of Defense indicated that the group may be behind the attacks, although a final assessment has not been reached.
In the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Hamas said yesterday it had received a ceasefire proposal and was studying it. This appears to be the most serious peace initiative since the first and only brief ceasefire in the war, which collapsed in November.
Markets are also awaiting the release of China’s Purchasing Managers’ Index data on Wednesday, which is likely to show a contraction for the fourth straight month.