WTI falls as cease-fire talks continue

U.S. crude oil futures fell 3% on Friday amid reports that Qatar told Iran to not attack Israel while Gaza cease-fire talks are ongoing.

Qatar’s prime minister told Iran’s leaders in a phone call after the first day of Gaza cease-fire talks in Doha Thursday that they should de-escalate, warning of the consequences of attacking Israel when progress is being made in the negotiations, two diplomats told The Washington Post.

Here are Friday’s energy prices:

• West Texas Intermediate September contract: $76.13 per barrel, down $2.02, or 2.58%. Year to date, U.S. crude oil has gained 6.2%.
• Brent September contract: $79.15 per barrel, down $1.91, or 2.36%. Year to date, the global benchmark is ahead 2.7%.
• RBOB Gasoline September contract: $2.31 per gallon, down 4 cents, or 1.81%. Year to date, gasoline is up 10.2%.
• Natural Gas September contract: $2.16 per thousand cubic feet, down 3 cents, or 1.32%. Year to date, gas is down 13.7%.

The cease-fire talks are expected to resume Friday, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters.

The U.S. benchmark jumped more than 4% on Monday on fears that an attack by Iran on Israel was drawing closer. Iran has vowed to retaliate over the assassination of a Hamas leader in Tehran in late July.

Prices have subsequently pulled back as an assault has not yet materialized. Worries about softening oil demand in China have also weighed on the market.

“The pendulum of price influence keeps swinging between fundamentals and geopolitics, with today’s selloff seemingly dictated by negotiations in the Middle East and an ongoing lack of retaliation by Iran,” said Matt Smith, lead oil analyst for the Americas at Kpler.