The first round of international oil prices on Monday set off a moratorium on inter-immaging between the US and Iran to ignite the ceasefire

ON 27 JULY, AS TRADERS ASSESSED THE SUPPLY RISK IN THE MIDDLE EAST, OIL PRICES DROPPED SHARPLY ON MONDAY. UNITED STATES AIR STRIKES ON IRAN WERE SUSPENDED ON WEEKENDS, WHILE AL-HOUTHI FORCES CLAIMED TO HAVE LAUNCHED ATTACKS AGAINST TARGETS IN SAUDI ARABIA. THE BRENT CRUDE OIL FUTURES FELL TODAY BY ABOUT 6 PER CENT TO AROUND $91 PER BARREL, AND WTI CRUDE OIL FUTURES FELL BELOW $84. THE PRICE OF NATURAL GAS IN EUROPE DROPPED BY 7.8 PER CENT. AFTER 13 DAYS OF CONTINUOUS STRIKES AGAINST IRAN, THE UNITED STATES SUSPENDED OPERATIONS FROM LATE FRIDAY, RAISING MARKET QUESTIONS ABOUT THE WAY FORWARD FOR TRUMP. THE IRANIAN ARMY INDICATED THAT TEHRAN HAD SUSPENDED ITS RESPONSE. DESPITE THIS, YEMENI AL-HOUTHI CLAIMED THAT THEY HAD ATTACKED SAUDI ARABIAN FACILITIES IN THE RED SEA PORT CITIES OF GIZAN AND YANBU ON SATURDAY, BUT NEITHER RIYADH NOR SAUDI ARABIAN IMMEDIATELY CONFIRMED THIS CLAIM. AS THE AMERICAN-IRAQI CONFLICT SPREAD FROM THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ TO THE RED SEA, BRENT CRUDE OIL HAS SOARED THIS MONTH AT ABOUT 30 PER CENT, WITH A BRIEF BREAKTHROUGH OF $100 PER BARREL LAST WEEK. THIS CONFLICT, WHICH IS NEARING THE END OF THE FIFTH MONTH, HAS HEIGHTENED CONCERNS ABOUT THE IMPACT OF GLOBAL INFLATION, AS THE GLOBAL FUEL MARKET HAS LOST ITS SPARE CAPACITY AT A TIME WHEN THE WAR HAS PUSHED UP PRICES, AND THE PRICE OF FINISHED OIL HAS JUMPED. KIM XIAN