Oil falls over 3pc as supply concerns ease

Oil slipped more than three per cent on Monday with US crude oil futures falling more than $3 a barrel as fears eased about the Israel’s war on Gaza disrupting supply from the region and as investors grew cautious ahead of this week’s US Federal Reserve meeting. Brent crude futures fell $2.90, or 3.21 per cent, to $87.58 a barrel by 10:32am CDT (1532 GMT), while US West Texas Intermediate crude was down $3.14, or 3.67pc, at $82.40. Crude had jumped 3pc on Friday after Israel stepped up ground incursions into Gaza, stoking worries the conflict could expand in a region that accounts for a third of global oil output. However, that concern was fading on Monday, analysts said. “The war premium has come out of the market,” said Phil Flynn, analyst at Price Futures Group. “It’s a situation where over the weekend the war seemed to intensify, but there seems to be no disruption to supply.”