Oil prices dropped sharply on Monday after Iran refrained from announcing an immediate retaliation for Israel’s strikes on the country.
Both Brent and US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures hit their lowest levels since October 1, and by early morning Brent crude was down $4.12, or 5.4 per cent, to $71.93 a barrel while WTI dropped $4.03, or 5.6 per cent, to $67.75.
Israel said it targeted military sites on Saturday in retaliation for a barrage of almost 200 ballistic missiles fired by Iran towards Israel on October 1.
Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, said that the attacks by Israel, which killed at least four soldiers, should not be “exaggerated or downplayed” but he refrained from calling for an immediate retaliatory strike.
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