Oil prices dip as Gaza ceasefire cools market risk premium

Oil prices declined on Friday, following a 1.6 per cent drop in the previous session, as the market’s risk premium eased after Israel and Hamas agreed to the first phase of a plan to end the war in Gaza.

Brent crude futures were down 33 cents, or 0.5 per cent, at $64.89 a barrel at 08:35 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude slipped 24 cents, or 0.4 per cent, to $61.27.

“Finally having some kind of peace process in the Middle East is lowering the shoulders a little bit,” said Bjarne Schieldrop, chief commodities analyst at SEB. He added that this could ease fears about crude carriers passing through the Suez Canal and the Red Sea.