WTI Falls to $82 as U.S. and Iran Pause Attacks
Barani Krishnan
DTN Refined Fuels Market Reporter
SECAUCUS, NJ (DTN) -- Crude futures tumbled their most in a day since late
May on swift long liquidation Monday (7/27), as a pause in U.S.-Iran fighting
reignited ceasefire hopes.
"There's a good chance that something could happen," U.S. President Donald
Trump told reporters as U.S. and Iranian forces both withheld strikes at the
weekend after nearly two straight weeks of hostilities that abruptly ended an
original ceasefire signed June 17.
NYMEX WTI for September delivery fell $6.70 to settle at $82.71 bbl for a
7.5% slide on the day. That was the largest percentage slide in a day for the
U.S. crude benchmark since May 20, when it fell almost 9%.
ICE Brent for September delivery closed down $8.42, or 8.7%, at $88.36 bbl,
marking the biggest one-day drop for the global crude benchmark since April 20,
when it also lost about 9%.
Downstream, NYMEX ULSD futures for August delivery eased $0.069 to $4.1116
gallon, and front-month RBOB futures retreated $0.0686 to $3.3273 gallon.
The US dollar index rose by 0.043 points to 101.345 against a basket of
foreign currencies.
Prior to Monday, crude prices rocketed to two-month highs amid the war
escalation over the past two weeks, with WTI scaling $88 bbl and Brent $95, as
Iran-aligned Houthi rebels expanded attacks to a new front, threatening oil
flows in the Red Sea.
The current pause in hostilities reduces the geopolitical temperature in the
Middle East, but traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained muted.
Signs of easing supply disruptions also emerged from the Black Sea, where
ship-tracking data showed empty tankers heading to Kazakh terminals.
Operations were halted early last week after several drone strikes targeted
tankers loading at the Novorossiysk terminal. The resulting CPC pipeline
shutdown--which transports 1.2 to 1.4 million bpd of Caspian Sea crude--created
a backlog that forced producers to curb output.
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