Oil down 2%, reversing rebound, as Israel pauses on Gaza ground assault
Investing.com - Crude prices fell 2% Thursday, reversing the previous day’s gain, on signs that Israel was acceding to international calls to hold back from a ground invasion of Gaza, as world powers worked to limit casualties and also negotiate the release of some 200 Israeli hostages held by Hamas.
New York-traded West Texas Intermediate, or WTI, crude for December delivery, settled at $83.21 per barrel, down $2.18 or 2.5% on the day. The US crude benchmark rose 2% on Wednesday after a 6% drop in three prior sessions.
UK-origin Brent crude for December delivery settled at $87.93, down $2.20, or 2.4%. The global crude benchmark rose 2.3% in the previous session after a 5% plunge over three prior sessions.
“I’ve said this before and I’m reiterating: It’s really hard to assign an appropriate war risk premium to crude now because the Middle East oil traffic hasn’t really been impacted by this conflict,” said John Kilduff, partner at New York energy hedge fund Again Capital.
Technical charts for WTI indicated further downside, possibly below $80 per barrel, said Sunil Kumar Dixit, chief technical strategist at SKCharting.com.
“The current price action remains bearish for US crude as long as $84.50 is active resistance,” said Dixit.
“On the downside, we can see a pull back towards $82.70 and $82. Major support is seen at $81. A day close below $81 can open the door to $77.50.”
Thursday’s slump in oil came despite US gross domestic product, or GDP, growth beating forecasts with a 4.9% annual for the third quarter, according to data that boosted the notion of a ‘soft landing’ Idea for the economy.
Most Wall Street economists had warned at one time or another this year about the potential for a recession as the Federal
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