Investing.com–Oil prices fell sharply in early Asian trading on Monday, weighed down by easing fears of war in the Middle East after Israel's attack on Iran over the weekend. end, was less severe than expected.
The attack allowed traders to remove the risk premium from crude prices and put the focus back on demand, which is expected to weaken in the coming months.
The December delivery fell 4.1% to $72.97 a barrel, while the crude fell 4.2% to $68.76 a barrel as of 7:57 p.m. ET (23:57 GMT). Both contracts were near their weakest levels since the start of October.
Israeli strikes on Iran avoid oil and nuclear sites
Israel launched an attack on several Iranian military sites on Saturday, but avoided the country's main oil production sites and nuclear facilities.
Iran downplayed the impact of the attack, but still threatened retaliatory measures.
The Israeli attack eased fears of a major escalation in the Middle East's long-running conflict. Traders had feared that any attack on Iran's oil and nuclear infrastructure would mark a serious escalation of the conflict, likely to disrupt oil supplies to the crude-rich region.
This idea had supported crude prices over the past month, particularly after Iran's attack on Israel in early October.
Despite Israel's restraint, the Middle East conflict has not shown signs of escalation, with the country continuing its offensive against Hamas and Hezbollah.
An avalanche of economic data this week
Beyond the conflict in the Middle East, attention will focus this week on a series of key economic data in order to obtain more indications on global oil demand.
Gross domestic product data from and are expected in the coming days, while data from the – the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge – are also due later in the week.
Reports from China – the world's largest oil importer – are expected later in the week, offering more clues about the country after it unveiled a series of major stimulus measures over the past month.
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