Crude Oil Price Falls to $73 Per Barrel

Crude oil prices fell more than 4 percent on Tuesday after a report that Israel was willing to spare Iranian oil targets, easing concerns over supply disruption.

Brent crude oil price fell 4.65 percent to $73.83 a barrel at 5.18 WAT, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) lost 4.86 percent, dropping to $70.20 a barrel.

Both prices had dropped about 2 percent on Monday.

Amid the escalating conflict in the Middle East, Reuters reported that Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, told the US his country is willing to strike military targets rather than oil or nuclear facilities in Iran.

The region has been on edge awaiting Isreal’s response to Iranian missiles launched on October 1.

Iran had said the attack was in response to Israel’s invasion of Lebanon and the assassination of its allies, including Hamas’ Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, and Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s leader, in Beirut.

On October 3, the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, known as OPEC+, retained its oil output policy, including a plan to start raising output in December.

Days later, OPEC said Nigeria’s average daily crude oil production dropped to 1.32 million barrels per day (bpd) in September 2024.