Oil slips after rally last week on Middle East, tight supply
markets.
Brent crude futures were down 54 cents, or about 0.7%, at $81.65 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures slipped 32 cents, also about 0.4%, to $76.52 a barrel at 1426 GMT.
Last week, the major forces underlying the rally were the persistent threats to shipping in the Red Sea, Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries and U.S. refinery maintenance, Tamas Varga of oil broker PVM told Reuters.
This has led to scarce availability of products, particularly in the middle of the barrel, he said.
«These factors have not subsided yet — and for this reason, I believe that what we see at the moment is only a retracement.»
Logistics disruptions in the Red Sea continued on Monday, with Yemen-based Houthis saying they had targeted a cargo ship in the Red Sea, which they claimed was American.
Shipping trackers said the Marshall Islands-flagged ship was Greek-owned, while analysts said it had been heading to Iran with a corn cargo.
The Houthis have targeted shipping with drones and missiles since November in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. The United States has led retaliatory strikes on Houthi missile sites since January.
The Houthis have since said they will target ships not just connected to Israel, but also the U.S. and Britain.
In other supply news, Saudi Arabia's energy minister on Monday said the reason behind the Kingdom's recent decision to halt its oil capacity expansion plans was the energy transition, adding that the kingdom has plenty of spare capacity to cushion the oil market.
