WATCH THE VIDEO HERE Oil prices settled lower on Tuesday after Israel agreed to a ceasefire deal with Lebanon, reducing oil’s risk premium, with Brent crude futures down by 20 cents or 0.27 per cent to $72.81 a barrel and the US West Texas Intermediate(WTI) crude futures trading at $68.77 a barrel after a decline of 17 cents or 0.25 per cent. Israel’s security cabinet has agreed a ceasefire deal with Lebanon on Tuesday. The accord was expected to take effect on Wednesday. The Prime Minister of Israel, Mr Benjamin Netanyahu, said he was ready to implement a ceasefire deal with Lebanon and would “respond forcefully to any violation” by Hezbollah. Prices had fallen more than $2 on Monday following multiple reports that Israel and Lebanon had agreed to the terms of a ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah conflict. A ceasefire could pressure crude oil prices because the US administration would likely reduce sanctions on oil from Iran, a supporter of Hezbollah. Also, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, OPEC+ are discussing a further delay to a planned oil output hike that was due to start in January. Saudi Arabia, Russia, and Iraq, the three biggest producers in the OPEC+ alliance, met on Tuesday to discuss the state of the global oil market. This happened days before the wider group will meet on December 1 to decide how to proceed with the production cuts. Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed S. Al-Sudani held on Tuesday a joint meeting with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak and Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Energy, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud. The meeting focused on discussions regarding global energy market conditions, crude oil production, and its flow to markets to meet demand. The group pumps about half the world’s oil and had planned to gradually roll back oil production cuts with small increases over many months in 2024 and 2025. However, a slowdown in Chinese and global demand, and rising output outside the group, have put a dampener on that plan. Plans by incoming US President, Mr Donald Trump, have also created jitters for the market after he said he would impose a 25 per cent tariff on all products coming into the US from Mexico and Canada. Crude oil inventories in the US fell by 5.935 million barrels for the week ending November 15, according to The American Petroleum Institute (API). The official data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) will be released later on Wednesday.
Oil Prices Dip as Israel Agrees Ceasefire Deal With Lebanon
