Yemisi Izuora
Oil prices dropped on Friday extending days of losses as the threat of war in the Middle East, a major oil producing region, calmed and investors switched their attention to economic growth prospects and demand for crude.
Brent crude was down 14 cents, or 0.2 per cent, at $65.23 after falling more than 4 per cent over the last two days. The US West Texas Intermediate, WTI was also down 14 cents, or 0.2 per cent, at $59.42, after dropping slightly on Thursday and plunging around 5 per cent on Wednesday.
“The U.S. and Iran both appear to be trying to de-escalate bringing the region back from the brink of war and reducing the risk of a major supply disruption to oil markets,” Eurasia Group said in a note.
Oil prices are below where they were before a U.S. drone strike killed a top Iranian general on January 3, with Iran responding with a ballistic missile attack on Iraqi air bases hosting U.S. forces this week that left no casualties.
