On May 6, after Israel announced the evacuation of Gaza’s Khan Younis neighborhood, hundreds of Palestinians, including women and children living in eastern Rafah, moved to western Khan Younis with only a few belongings. .
Ashraf Amra | Anadolu | Getty Images
Crude oil futures fell on Tuesday as the course of the Gaza war remains uncertain.
Israel’s war cabinet voted unanimously to continue military operations in Rafah after rejecting a ceasefire proposal accepted by Hamas on Monday. Israeli forces seized the Rafah crossing, prompting condemnation from Egypt, which has been mediating ceasefire talks.
Here are today’s energy prices:
- West Texas Intermediate Oil June contract: $78.32, down 16 cents, or 0.2%. U.S. crude has gained 9.3% so far this year.
- Brent July contract: $83.16 per barrel, down 18 cents, or 0.22%. The global benchmark has gained about 8% so far this year.
- RBOB gasoline June contract: $2.57 per gallon, down 0.8%. Gasoline futures have gained 22% so far this year.
- natural gas June contract: $2.21, up 0.77%. Natural gas prices have fallen 12% so far this year.
Although there have been no major disruptions to crude supply, oil prices have been volatile for months on the back of geopolitical risks in the Middle East. Chevron Chief Executive Mike Voss said prices remained within a relatively stable range, but oil still faced upside risks due to the war’s proximity to the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most important crude oil transit station.
WTI vs. Brent.
“A lot depends on how things unfold here, and we all want the conflict to end,” Voss told CNBC on Monday at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles. The CEO said after Chevron reported earnings in April He told CNBC that market supply and demand maintain a good balance.
A statement from the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Israeli delegation would continue ceasefire negotiations in Cairo “to rule out the possibility of reaching an agreement on conditions acceptable to Israel.”
Tamas Varga, an analyst at oil broker PVM, said a truce in the seven-month-old war remains elusive. Varga said it was unclear whether a ceasefire would prevent Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping, which is by far the biggest threat to oil.
“It’s going to take bold investors to bet on this,” Varga told clients in a note on Tuesday.
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