(New York) Oil prices ended mixed between gains and losses on Monday, as the market scrutinized the geopolitical situation in the Middle East, while the price of European natural gas fell to its lowest since the summer of 2020.
The price of a barrel of Brent from the North Sea, for delivery in April, fell 0.23% to $82.00.
Its American equivalent, a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI), for delivery in March, gained 0.10% to $76.92.
The market focused on developments in the situation in the Middle East while awaiting the assessment of demand for black gold by OPEC.
The head of Iranian diplomacy Hossein Amir-Abdollahian declared that “the evolution of the situation in Gaza is moving towards a political solution”, according to a press release from the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs published on Saturday.
“Iran’s diplomatic initiative has a downward effect” on oil prices, explains Bjarne Schieldrop, analyst at Seb.
“If Iran seriously considers a diplomatic solution for Israel [et] Gaza, this reduces the risk of an all-out regional war in the Middle East involving Iran and, therefore, the risk of disruption of large volumes of oil in the region,” he explains.
Israel on Monday released two hostages held in Rafah, the final target of its offensive in the Gaza Strip, during a nighttime commando operation accompanied by deadly strikes on this city where hundreds of thousands of Palestinian civilians are refugees.
In addition, OPEC (the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) and the IEA (the International Energy Agency) will publish their monthly reports on Tuesday and Thursday respectively.
“The focus will be on how they revise their demand outlook in response to global developments,” says Ipek Ozkardeskaya, an analyst at Swissquote.
The price of European natural gas, for its part, fell to its lowest level since July 2020 “lacking winter signs”, commented Phil Flynn of Price Futures Group.
The Dutch TTF futures contract, considered the European benchmark, lost almost 5% on Monday to 25.78 euros per megawatt hour (MWh), a three and a half year low.
In the oil industry, consolidation continued with the announcement of the acquisition of Endeavor, a large unlisted American hydrocarbon producer, by Diamondback for $26 billion, including debt.