Benchmark Brent crude oil declined in price on Monday, although it remained above $86 per barrel, as traders shifted their attention back to inflation from tensions in the Middle East, which have so far left actual oil supplies unaffected, UNN reports with reference to Reuters.
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At 12:27 GMT (15:27 Kyiv time), Brent crude oil futures fell 77 cents to $86.52 per barrel.
The May contract for WTI fell 46 cents to $82.68 per barrel in sluggish trading. The more active June contract fell 72 cents to $81.5 per barrel.
Both benchmarks rose by more than $3 per barrel early Friday morning after explosions were heard in the Iranian city of Isfahan. But the gains came to naught after Tehran downplayed the incident and said it had no plans to retaliate.
The market's reaction is another example of how it is reasonable to expect a prolonged rise in oil prices only if the Strait of Hormuz, the world's most important oil artery, carrying a fifth of the world's supply, is disrupted or Saudi Arabia is directly involved in a conflict, said Tamas Varga of oil brokerage PVM.
Meanwhile, according to Reuters analysis, significant stockpiles of some of the largest oil grades limit the impact of the conflict in the Middle East on oil futures.
On the economic front, inflation is once again in the spotlight, with comments from the US Federal Reserve and a series of hotter-than-expected inflation data forcing a reduction in expectations of a rate cut last week, the publication points out.
The strengthening dollar and the availability of spare production capacity are other reasons why the price of Brent is unlikely to reach $100 per barrel in the near future, PVM's Varga said.