Source: Wall Street News
Oil prices fell sharply after rumours of a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas and power outages forced the closure of America's largest refinery in the Midwest.
Rumors of a cease-fire between Palestine and Israel resonated with the news that the refinery was shut down, and oil prices fell by more than 2%.
At noon trading on Thursday, due to news from Al Jazeera on Al Jazeera that Palestine and Israel are expected to reach a cease-fire agreement, both US oil and oil quickly declined. In the end, crude oil fell for two consecutive days. Brent crude oil futures for April closed down 2.29% to $78.70 per barrel; WTI crude oil futures for March closed down 2.67% to $73.82 per barrel.
A Qatari official clarified that the two sides have yet to reach any cease-fire agreement, but reiterated that Hamas has actively received the cease-fire proposal put forward earlier this week. Despite the peninsula's subsequent removal of the original report, CTAs continued to implement a bearish strategy, which led to a sharp drop in oil prices.
Additionally, BP (British Petroleum) was forced to shut down an oil refinery in the Whiting area of Indiana in the United States due to a power outage. The refinery is the largest refinery in the Midwest of the United States, with a daily processing capacity of 435,000 barrels. Crude oil is an input material for refineries and is refined into various petroleum products, such as gasoline, diesel, etc. When BP's refineries shut down, demand for crude oil decreases, which can lead to a relative oversupply in the crude oil market, thereby depressing crude oil prices.
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