ISLAMABAD
\nCrude oil price fell on Monday amid peace talks between Israel and Hamas in Cairo.
\nAs of 1330 hours GMT, Brent, the international benchmark for two-thirds of the world\u2019s oil, slipped $0.67 (-0.75 percent) to reach $88.83 a barrel. Similarly, the West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the main oil benchmark for North America, went down by $0.62 (-0.74 percent) to $83.23 a barrel.
\nOn the other hand, the price of Arab Light increased by $0.65 (+0.73 percent) to reach $90.23 a barrel. Similarly, the price of Russian Sokol increased by $0.86 (+1.06 percent) to $81.97 a barrel. On the other hand, the price for Opec Basket decreased by $0.06 (-0.07 percent) to $88.39 a barrel.
\nHamas leaders arrived in Cairo for a new round of talks with Egyptian and Qatari mediators. Egypt is hopeful but waiting for a response on the plan from Israel and Hamas, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said.
\nMeanwhile, US inflation rose higher than anticipated last month, dealing another setback for the US Federal Reserve\u2019s expectations for a soft landing. Lower interest rates stimulate economic growth, resulting in higher crude demand.
\nThe Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index rose 0.7 percent last month, the Commerce Department reported on Friday. On an annual basis, headline inflation rose 2.7 percent. Core PCE, which excludes food and energy, rose 2.8 percent annually, unchanged from February but above economists\u2019 expectations.
\nThe central bank is anticipated to implement three interest rate cuts this year to support growth in the world\u2019s largest economy. However, markets now expect the Fed to cut rates by only 25 basis points this year, according to CME\u2019s FedWatch tool. That would bring the Fed\u2019s target range down to 5 percent and 5.25 percent.
\nMeanwhile, US crude inventories, an indicator of fuel demand, decreased by 6.4 million barrels in the week ending April 19, according to the US Energy Information Administration data. Oil prices have gained more than 16 per cent this year driven in part by output cuts implemented by the Opec+ group of crude producers.
\nFears of a potential disruption of crude shipments from the Middle East amid the continued geopolitical uncertainties has also pushed prices higher.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD Crude oil price fell on Monday amid peace talks between Israel and Hamas in Cairo. As of 1330 hours GMT, Brent, the international benchmark for two-thirds of the world\u2019s oil, slipped $0.67 (-0.75 percent) to reach $88.83 a barrel. Similarly, the West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the main oil benchmark for North America, went down […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":362479,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-403496","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business"},"yoast_head":"\n