Oil Prices Fall as Saudi Arabia Eases Supply Disruptions

Oil prices continued to fall on Thursday after reports that Saudi Arabia is offering extra crude cargoes through Oman eased fears of supply disruptions in the Middle East.

The price of Brent crude futures dropped $1.24, or 1.2%, to $104.59 a barrel by 0049 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures were down $1.14, or 1.1%, at $101.29.

Nissan Securities Investment's chief strategist Hiroyuki Kikukawa said that concerns over supply tightness eased slightly following the news of Saudi Arabia shipping cargo via Oman.

The offer of more crude oil loadings to Asian refiners via ship-to-ship transfers off Oman's Sohar port has blunted some of the impact on global supply from attacks on Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline to the Red Sea.