Brent Crude Falls Below US$98
Brent crude dropped below $98 a barrel on Thursday, falling for the sixth straight session, as worries about ample supply and weak demand, which have dragged prices to 17-month lows, outweighed geopolitical concerns in the Middle East. The market was concerned about the impact of the expansion of U.S. military action, with its plans for air strikes in Syria and more attacks in Iraq, on the latter's oil output, said Phin Ziebell, economist at the National Australia Bank in Melbourne. "More broadly, it's one of supply with the U.S. boosting output from unconventional sources, while demand is pretty flat," Ziebell said. Brent climbed in…
Brent Slips below $105
Brent crude slipped under $105 a barrel on Monday, dropping from a one-week high hit on Friday, as U.S. intervention in Iraq eased concerns over the risk of disruption to supply from OPEC's second-largest producer. * U.S. Analysts have said that U.S. air strikes on Islamic State targets in northern Iraq over the weekend could help enforce stability in the country, curbing the risk of supply disruptions. Iraqi Kurdistan said on Friday that its oil output remained unaffected. "For this week, there's going to be one word on traders' lips, and that word is 'Iraq'," said Ben Le Brun, a market analyst at OptionsXpress in Sydney. September Brent crude dropped 5 cents to $104.97 a barrel by 0642 GMT.