Oil prices both in New York and London slipped on Monday’s trading, tumbling from a two-month high.
May contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude on the New York Mercantile Exchange dropped 33 cents before settling at $65.55 a barrel.
Brent crude in London’s ICE Futures Europe Exchange took a 40-cent dive and settled at $70.05 a barrel. Overall, crude prices slipped one-half of a percent.
Gas prices on the NYMEX ended the day 3 cents higher at $2.62 Mmbtu.
Why the slip in crude prices? Analysts attributed it to mounting political tensions in the Middle East that have failed to interrupt supplies. The dip in prices came as Iranian-backed Houthi rebels carried out a missile attack on Saudi Arabia on Sunday while Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was visiting U.S. leaders in Washington.
One analyst indicated crude prices held up well. He said if Iran’s exports are constrained again, as some speculate might happen with John Bolton as National Security Adviser, it would remove quite a bit of oil from the market.