Daily Times

Oil futures recorded their biggest weekly loss since November last week after making their biggest weekly gain since October in the preceding week, amid prospects of a pause in the Israel-Gaza war and a weakening fuel demand outlook. Major global benchmark Brent ended the week lower by 7.44 percent. Brent, the international benchmark for two-thirds of the world’s oil, fell to $77.33 a barrel from $83.55 a barrel during the week under review, showing a decrease of $6.22 on a week-on-week (WoW) basis. Other global benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the main oil benchmark for North America, also closed the week lower to $72.28 from $78.01 a barrel, registering a weekly decrease of $5.73 (-7.35 percent). Earlier, oil prices posted the first monthly gain in January since September as the US and Iran stand on the brink of a more direct confrontation in the Middle East. WTI and Brent rose 5.86 percent and 6.06 percent in January. Both benchmarks shed more than 10 percent in 2023 on a year-on-year basis. Meanwhile, fighting in Gaza continued, after the mediator Qatar said on Thursday that Hamas had given its “initial” support to a potential deal for an exchange of hostages and prisoners during a pause in hostilities.