U.S. crude oil falls nearly 3% as U.S. pushes for Gaza cease-fire, China demand weighs on market

U.S. crude oil futures fell nearly 3% on Monday to close below $75 per barrel, as the U.S. pushes to secure a cease-fire deal to the end the fighting in Gaza and worries about softening demand weighed on the market.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Israel, where he warned this may be the “last opportunity” to secure a deal that ends the fighting and frees hostages held by Hamas.

Cease-fire talks are scheduled to continue this week in Cairo, Egypt.

Here are Monday’s closing energy prices:

• West Texas Intermediate September contract: $74.37 per barrel, down $2.28, or 2.97%. Year to date, U.S. oil has gained 3.8%.
• Brent October contract: $77.66 per barrel, off $2.02, or 2.54%. Year to date, the global benchmark is ahead 0.8%.
• RBOB Gasoline September contract: $2.26 per gallon, down more than 4 cents, or 2%. Year to date, gasoline is higher by 7.7%.
• Natural Gas September contract: $2.23 per thousand cubic feet, up 11 cents, or 5.3%. Year to date, gas is down 11.1%.

U.S. crude oil has been trading in a range between $75 and $80 per barrel over the past week, with the market caught between geopolitical tensions in the Middle East that could disrupt supplies and push prices higher, and supply and demand fundamentals leading the other way.

Amrita Sen, founder of Energy Aspects, told CNBC demand is driving the market right now, with prices responding to very weak data out of China. Traders have largely faded geopolitical risk premium as there has been no supply disruption, Sen said.

“The bearish view is simple, and in the medium term, slowing economic activity, weakness in Asia, and softer refinery margins all don’t bode well for crude prices going into year-end,” Brian Leisen, global oil analyst at RBC Capital Markets, told clients in a note Sunday.