Oil Prices Dip on Recovering Middle East Exports

Oil prices settled down 2.5 percent on Tuesday as investors focused on signs of recovering crude exports from the Middle East, despite lingering concerns about supply disruptions during the US-Israeli war on Iran.

Brent crude futures closed at $102.59 a barrel after dropping by $2.69 or 2.6 percent, while US West Texas Intermediate crude settled down $3.22 or 3.5 percent at $89.38.

The prices are headed for monthly gains of around 13 percent and 4 percent respectively due to ongoing supply disruptions in the region.

Dennis Kissler, senior vice president of trading at BOK Financial, noted that the Saudi's East/West pipeline flows have moved up, putting pressure on crude futures.