Commodities
Middle East Tensions Ease, Crude Prices Fall to $103
Oil prices took a significant hit on Thursday, dipping to their lowest point in a week as concerns over disruptions to crude supplies from the Middle East began to ease.
The Brent crude futures price fell by $2.67, or 2.5%, to $103.13 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude dropped by $1.61, or 1.6%, to $100.82 a barrel.
The decline came after reports emerged that Saudi Arabia was offering additional crude cargoes to Asian refiners through ship-to-ship transfers off Oman's Sohar port.
This move is expected to offset some of the disruption caused by attacks on Saudi Arabia's East-West oil pipeline, which transports crude to the Red Sea export hub of Yanbu.