Oil prices down as Middle East tensions ease

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - Crude oil prices started on a lower note in early trading on Friday as tensions between the U.S. and Iran eased, lowering the risk of secure supply from the region.

International benchmark Brent crude was trading at $65.28 per barrel at 0640 for a 0.1% decline after closing Thursday at $65.34 a barrel with a 0.15% daily loss.

American benchmark West Texas Intermediate was at $59.45 a barrel at the same time for a 0.12% loss after ending the previous session at $59.52 per barrel with a 0.15% daily decline.

Crude prices are now below their level recorded on Jan. 3 when the U.S. carried out a strike that killed Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps’ Quds Force, in the Iraqi capital Baghdad.

In response, Iran launched more than a dozen ballistic missiles against U.S. military and coalition forces in Al-Asad and Erbil in Iraq on Jan. 8, threatening the secure supply of oil from the Middle East.