Oil slips as Israel-Iran strikes spare key energy infrastructure
Oil prices edged down on Monday, paring back Friday's 7% surge, as renewed military strikes by Israel and Iran over the weekend left oil production and export facilities unaffected.
Brent futures were down 93 cents, or around 1.3%, to $73.30 a barrel by 1307 GMT, while U.S. WTI futures were off 99 cents or nearly 1.4%, to $71.99.
Both benchmarks jumped more than $4 a barrel in Asian trading before giving back gains. They settled 7% higher on Friday, having surged more than 13% during the session to their highest levels since January.
Iranian missiles struck Israel's Tel Aviv and the port city of Haifa on Monday, destroying homes and fuelling concerns among world leaders at this week's G7 meeting that the conflict could widen.
An exchange of strikes between Israel and Iran on Sunday resulted in civilian casualties, with both militaries urging civilians on the opposing side to take precautions against further attacks.
Some gas infrastructure has been hit. Iran partially suspended gas production at its South Pars field after an attack by Israel on Saturday. The gas it produces is consumed domestically. Last week, Israel shut down its offshore Leviathan gas field preemptively.
Source : Reuters
