Crude oil prices fell in early trading on Thursday after Israel and Hamas agreed to the first phase of a plan to resolve the Gaza conflict.
The decision caused the “war risk premium” to decline and prompted investors to unwind their long oil positions.
Brent crude fell $0.51, or 0.77%, to $65.74 a barrel, while WTI oil fell $0.55, or 0.88%, to around $62.00 a barrel.
The conflict in Gaza has previously been one of the drivers of oil price increases, due to concerns that it could escalate into a regional conflict that disrupts global energy supplies.
But with renewed hopes for a ceasefire, some of that geopolitical pressure has eased.
In addition, data from the US Energy Information Agency showed that total weekly supply of petroleum products in the US rose to 21.990 million barrels per day, the highest level since December 2022.
Investors remain closely monitoring developments in the Middle East conflict, US supply data and OPEC+ policies that could affect global oil supply.
