Investing.com — Oil prices settled higher Monday, after swinging wildly on dwindling hopes for an end to the Gaza war as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly said the deal, which was accepted by Hamas, was far from meeting Israel’s demands.
At 14:30 ET (18:30 GMT), rose 0.5% to settle at $78.48 a barrel, after dipping below $78 a barrel intraday. While rose 0.5% to $83.33 a barrel.
Ceasefire deal far from meeting demands, Netanyahu says
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the deal, which was brokered by Egypt and Qatar, was ‘far from meeting Israel’s demands,” striking a blow to hopes for a Gaza ceasefire. Hopes of ceasefire had gathered pace earlier in the day after Hamas said it had accepted of the proposal deal.
The remarks from Netanyahu come just as Israeli Army begin its offensive in Rafah, with “targeted strikes,” according to media outlets.
Signs that a deal may not be as close as previously believed, forced traders to cut their bets easing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East that have kept an supply risk premium embedded in oil prices.
Rate-cut, Saudi oil price hikes also keep lid on crude losses
The downside momentum in oil prices was also stifled by renewed bets on a September rate cut by the Federal Reserve. Sooner rather than later rate cuts could help keep the economic growth intact, supported demand for oil prices.
Saudi Arabia announced that it would raise the official selling price for its crude to Northwest Europe, the Mediterranean and Asia in June, a third-straight monthly hike, pointing to confidence in demand during the summer from the de facto OPEC leader.
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Ambar Warrick, Scott Kanowsky contributed to this report.