(New York) The price of a barrel of American West Texas Intermediate (WTI) fell on Tuesday to their lowest level in two months, the war between Israel and Hamas remaining contained while many economies show signs of collapse. shortness of breath.
The price of WTI for December delivery fell 1.56%, closing at $81.02. During the session, it fell to 80.74 dollars, a first since the end of August.
As for Brent from the North Sea of the same maturity, it crumbled by 0.04%, to 87.41 dollars.
The black gold had started in the green, pushed by the ground offensive of the Israeli army, which entered Gaza, where it is fighting the fighters of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.
But the market turned around at the end of the session. The shift was attributed by Phil Flynn, of Price Futures Group, to a statement by the spokesperson for Hamas’ military wing, according to which the latter will release foreign hostages “in the coming days.”
“Speculators rushed for the exit,” commented the analyst in reaction to this announcement.
“The possibility of a release of hostages indicates that Israel will perhaps carry out its operation in a less aggressive manner” than expected by the operators, explained Phil Flynn. “The markets are nervous and this news was enough to cancel out the rebound in crude oil. »
“The offensive is progressing gradually in Gaza and has not triggered an escalation of the conflict in the Middle East for the moment,” observed Carsten Fritsch of Commerzbank in a note.
Another element weighing on prices, according to the analyst, is the fact that “Saudi Arabia should not raise its prices for its Asian customers in December, a first in six months”.
The market was also deprived of momentum by the series of macroeconomic indicators published on Tuesday, which showed a deterioration in the economy in Europe, China and Japan.
Gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by 0.1% in the third quarter in the euro zone compared to the previous three months.
In China, manufacturing activity also entered a contraction phase in October.
“Concern about the global economy has increased,” said Craig Erlam of Oanda in a note.
“The market is driven by emotion,” summarized Phil Flynn, “and it will remain driven by the headlines” until further notice.