Brent falls 1.2% after five-month high — Channel NewsAsia

In London, United Kingdom, oil prices fell on Monday after reaching multi-month highs late last week. Brent futures were down $1.34, or 1.22%, at $108.52 per barrel as of 10:02 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude traded at $101.28 per barrel, down 13 cents, or 0.13%.

As Channel NewsAsia reports, investors took profits after the rise in prices. The market is also monitoring the potential impact of conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine on the global oil supply-demand balance.

Shipments through the Strait of Hormuz

UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said prices are being supported by attacks on vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, as well as shipment volumes that remain below pre-conflict levels. According to analytics company Kpler, the average seven-day volume of crude oil flows from the Persian Gulf fell last week to around 8.5 million barrels per day, from more than 20 million barrels per day a week earlier.

More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.

Kpler also reported at least 10 confirmed incidents involving commercial vessels during the week. Iranian media, citing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said that an oil tanker caught fire and exploded on Sunday after striking a naval mine in the southern part of the Strait of Hormuz.

Sanctions relief for exports from Russia

U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday signed an executive order easing some sanctions and tariffs related to exports from Russia, the aggressor state. This followed an agreement between Trump and Vladimir Putin, the president of the aggressor state Russia, on exports of diesel fuel to the United States and other countries.

According to Reuters, the volume of such exports is expected to begin at around 2.3 million barrels this month and increase to about 7.6 million barrels each month. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the president would have up to 60 days to assess the impact of the sanctions and tariffs on the global economy.