Oil prices fell by more than one percent in early trading on Monday, with investors remaining cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy meeting and manufacturing data in China this week, the impact of which outweighed the support derived from tension in the Middle East.
Price action
By 0350 GMT, Brent crude futures fell 1.6 percent, or $1.1, to $89.37 a barrel, and West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.2 percent, or $1.34, to $84.20 a barrel.
Tina Ting, an analyst at CMC Markets, said despite the escalation in the war between Hamas and Israel, a ground invasion is widely expected.
She added that the situation at the weekend indicated no further escalation into a broader regional war, which caused oil prices to decline.
The two crude oil prices rose three percent in Friday trading at the close after Israel intensified its ground operations in Gaza, which reinforces fears of the expansion of the scope of the conflict in a region that constitutes a third of global oil production.
Investors are awaiting the outcome of the US Central Bank's monetary policy meeting next Wednesday, US job data and the earnings results of the large technology company Apple, looking for indications of any economic slowdown that may affect demand for fuel in the United States, the largest oil consumer in the world.
It is widely expected that the US Federal Reserve will keep interest rates unchanged.
