Oil dipped as Treasury Secretary nominee Scott Bessent pushed for increased US production and Israel said it's potentially days away from a cease-fire deal with Lebanon's Hezbollah.
Brent crude fell below $75 a barrel after jumping almost 6% last week on increased geopolitical risks in Ukraine and Iran. Bessent advised President-elect Donald Trump to push for millions of barrels a day more of oil production or its equivalent, according to the Wall Street Journal.
That push comes at the same time OPEC is set to decide on whether to add extra barrels to the market and the International Energy Agency forecasts a sizable supply surplus next year.
On Monday, the Israeli ambassador to the US said that his nation is "close to a deal" with Hezbollah. Although it remains unclear if the Iran-backed group will accept an accord, the move reduced concerns about production from the Middle East, which supplies about a third of the world's oil.
Last week, oil was pushed higher as Russia's war in Ukraine escalated with the use of longer-range missiles by both sides, raising concern that crude flows could be affected. Cold weather and surging gas prices have also raised the prospect of higher diesel demand in Europe.
Crude has traded in a range of about $6 a barrel since the middle of October — alternating between weekly gains and losses — as the threat to supply from geopolitical tensions and some improvements in physical markets is weighed against the prospects of oversupply.
"It is the top that appears to be closer and not the bottom," said Tamas Varga, an analyst at brokerage PVM. "A continuous march higher in the current climate cannot and must not be ruled out but the underlying fundamental equation remains unchanged."
Banks including Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. expect the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to delay a planned increase for a third time when they meet this weekend.
Brent for January settlement fell 0.8% to $74.78 a barrel at 10:29 a.m. in London.
WTI for January delivery declined 0.9% to $70.81 a barrel.
Source : Bloomberg
