CNBC TV 18
Oil prices dipped in early trade on Monday on sharp price cuts by top exporter Saudi Arabia and a rise in OPEC output, offsetting worries about escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
Brent crude fell 9 cents, or 0.1%, to $78.67 a barrel by 0057 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures shed 10 cents, or 0.1%, to $73.71 a barrel. Both contracts climbed more than 2% in the first week of 2024 after investors returned from holidays to focus on geopolitical risks in the Middle East following attacks by Yemeni Houthis on ships in the Red Sea.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is in the Middle East this week, warned that the Gaza conflict could spread across the region without concerted peace efforts, although Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to continue the war until Hamas was eliminated.
