London October 9 2024: Oil prices slid on Tuesday, settling down more than 4% on news of a possible ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel, although prices found some support on fears of a potential attack on Iranian oil infrastructure.
Brent crude futures settled down $3.75, or 4.63%, at $77.18 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures finished down $3.57, or 4.63%, at $73.57 a barrel. At their session lows, both were down more than $4 a barrel.
“We continue to be very headline dependent,” said John Kilduff, partner with Again Capital LLC. “This morning, we heard about the potential ceasefire. Then we got indications targets are still being dialed in and energy targets are in the mix.”
“That Hezbollah is open to a ceasefire, is the kind of headline that people jump on,” said Phil Flynn, senior analyst at Price Futures Group. “There should be a lot of volatility up and down on this conflict.”
On Monday, Brent rose above $80 per barrel for the first time since August after more than a 3% daily gain. That followed the largest weekly gain in over a year, roughly 8%, in the week to Friday on rising concerns of a spreading war in the Middle East.
Hezbollah left the door open to a negotiated ceasefire after Israeli forces raised the stakes in the conflict with its Iran-backed enemy by making new incursions in the south of Lebanon.