Oil falls as investors focus on Middle East supply
USO•Oil prices fell, with Brent down 0.51% to $104.74 a barrel and WTI down 0.83% to $91.83. Both benchmarks were headed for monthly gains, of around 16% for Brent and 7% for WTI.
1. Prices decline
Oil prices fell on Tuesday as investors weighed signs of recovering crude exports from the region against concerns about Middle East supply disruptions. Brent was down 54 cents at $104.74 a barrel, while WTI fell 77 cents to $91.83.
2. Exports recover
Saudi Arabia resumed oil loadings from its Red Sea port of Yanbu after restarting operations on the East-West Pipeline. Crude exports from major Middle Eastern producers rose to 12.8 million barrels a day in September, their highest level since February, preliminary figures showed.
3. Diesel and diplomacy
European diesel futures edged down to around $1,370 per metric ton after reaching $1,535 last week. Trump denied offering Iran anything to end the war; separately, the US was considering regulatory relief to allow broader sales of red-dyed diesel as an alternative to a diesel export ban.
