Crude posts biggest daily drop in a year
The US benchmark for crude oil tumbled by roughly 5.5% in early trading Monday, putting it on track for its largest one-day drop in more than a year. West Texas Intermediate was hovering below $68 a barrel in recent trading.
The decline reflects relief that Israeli strikes on Iran over the weekend spared major oil or nuclear infrastructure, as well as signals that the Islamic Republic had little appetite to continue the military cycle of escalation.
“The more targeted response from Israel leaves the door open for de-escalation and clearly the price action in oil this morning suggests the market is of the same view,” ING analysts wrote.