Commodities
Oil Prices Slip on Middle East Export Recovery
Oil prices fell 2.5% on Tuesday as investors focused on recovering crude exports from the Middle East.
The Brent crude futures closed down $2.69, or 2.6%, at $102.59 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude settled down $3.22 or 3.5% at $89.38.
Brent was headed for a monthly gain of around 13%, and WTI about 4%, despite the decline.
Dennis Kissler, senior vice president of trading at BOK Financial, attributed the pressure on crude futures to news that Saudi's East/West pipeline flows had increased. He also noted that US/Iran negotiations were continuing, with both sides looking for an off-ramp, which would reduce Iran's bargaining power as more oil flows through the Middle East.