Crude oil prices went down more than 0ne percent on Monday as the Middle East conflict is currently not affecting oil production. As of 1300 hours GMT, Brent, the international benchmark for two-thirds of the world’s oil, shed $1.11 (-1.42 percent) to reach $77.18 a barrel. Similarly, the West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the main oil benchmark for North America, went down by $1.15 (-1.58 percent) to $71.53 a barrel. Brent ended last week lower by 0.60 percent, falling to $78.29 a barrel from $78.76 a barrel on a week-on-week, while WTI closed last week down to $72.68 from $73.81 a barrel, registering a weekly decline of 1.53 percent. Both benchmarks shed more than 10 percent in 2023 on a year-on-year basis. On the other hand, the price of Russian Sokol decreased by $0.82 (-1.12 percent) to $72.13. Arab Light prices witnessed a decrease of $0.96 (-1.20 percent) to reach $79.17 a barrel. However, the price for Opec Basket increased to $78.88 a barrel with an uptick of $0.60 (+0.77 percent). The OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes (ORB) is made up of Saharan Blend, Girassol, Djeno, Zafiro, Rabi Light, Iran Heavy, Basra Light, Kuwait Export, Es Sider, Bonny Light, Arab Light, Murban and Merey. Several tanker owners steered clear of the Red Sea and multiple tankers changed course on Friday after the US and Britain launched strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen after the Iran-backed group’s attacks on shipping in response to Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. The conflict has also held up at least four liquefied natural gas tankers travelling in the area. On Sunday the Houthi militia threatened a strong and effective response after the United States carried out another strike overnight. The US later said it shot down a missile fired at one of its ships from Yemen. The chief negotiator for Yemen’s Houthis on Monday warned that attacks on ships headed towards Israel will continue. On the other hand, the people protesting against perceived corruption in Libya threatened to shut down two more oil and gas facilities after shutting the 300,000 barrel per day Sharara field on January 7.