Oil dips as caution about data-heavy week offsets Mid-East war boost

By Florence Tan

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Oil prices slipped $1 a barrel on Monday as investors adopted caution ahead of the Fed policy meeting and China’s manufacturing data later this week, offsetting support from geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.

futures dropped 98 cents, or 1.1%, to $89.50 a barrel by 0001 GMT while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $84.54 a barrel, down $1, or 1.2%.

Investors are eyeing the outcome of the Federal Reserve monetary policy meeting on Wednesday, U.S. employment data and earnings from tech giant Apple Inc (NASDAQ:) for signs of any economic slowdown that could impact fuel demand at the world’s top oil consumer, CMC Markets (LON:) analyst Tina Teng said.

Both Brent and WTI ended 3% higher on Friday after Israel stepped up its ground incursions into Gaza, stoking worries that the conflict could widen in the region that accounts for a third of global oil production.

“Despite an escalation in the Hamas-Israel war, the ground invasion was widely expected,” Teng said.

“The weekend playout signals no further expansion into a wider regional war, which caused a retreat in oil prices.”

Last week, Brent and WTI marked their first weekly fall in three weeks as developments in the Middle East keep investors on edge and prices volatile.

China will report its October manufacturing and services PMIs this week, with investors watching out for further signs of a stabilising economy and improving fuel demand at the world’s top crude importer and No. 2 oil consumer after Beijing launched a burst of supportive policy measures.