Crude oil futures fell around $1 by midday Thursday, weighed down by a plan by Yemen's Houthi militia to halt attacks on ships in the Red Sea as well as profit-taking following the previous day's sharp gains.
At noon ET, the most active March NYMEX WTI contract fell about 90cts to $77.80/bbl and February WTI slid $1.30 to $78.75/bbl. March Brent dropped 80cts to around $81.25/bbl and April Brent was down by a similar amount to $79.85/bbl.
March NYMEX ULSD edged lower by 0.40ct to $2.5660/gal while the front-month February inched up by 0.35ct to $2.6170/gal. March RBOB dropped 3.15cts to $2.1545/gal and February RBOB fell 3.35cts to $2.1250/gal.
According to Reuters newswire reports, maritime security officials said they were expecting the Houthi militia to stop attacking ships in the Red Sea, after a Gaza ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.
Also, U.S. data released early Thursday showing rising retail sales in December suggest the Federal Reserve would focus on preventing inflation rather than further cutting interest to boost the economy.
This content was created by Oil Price Information Service, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. OPIS is run independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
--Reporting by Frank Tang, ftang@opisnet.com; Editing by Cory Wilchek, cwilchek@opisnet.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
01-16-25 1232ET