Oil prices fell today as civil unrest in Iran subsided, reducing the likelihood of a US attack that could disrupt supply from the major producer, while the market also tracks the escalating stand-off over Greenland.
Brent crude was trading at $63.79 a barrel this afternoon, down 40 cents or 0.62%.
US West Texas Intermediate for February fell 44 cents, or around 0.74%, to $59.00 a barrel. The contract expires tomorrow and the more active March contract was at $58.98, down 36 cents, or 0.61%.
"With fears around Iran subsiding over the last few days after rumours of a U.S. attack, the market is now focusing on the Greenland situation and how deep any fallout between the U.S. and Europe could be, as any trade war expansion could impact demand," said Rystad analyst Janiv Shah.
Iran's violent crackdown has quelled protests, which officials say killed 5,000 people and US President Donald Trump seemed to step back from his earlier threats of intervention.
EU leaders will convene in Brussels on Thursday for an emergency summit following Trump's threats to impose new tariffs on several EU countries over his demand to acquire Greenland, a European Union spokesperson said today.
Trump said on Saturday European imports would be hit by a News Story until the US is allowed to buy Greenland, escalating a conflict over the future of Denmark's vast Arctic island.
The market was also looking at the risk of damage to Russian infrastructure and distillate supplies at a time of forecasts of colder weather to come across North America and Europe, which along with concerns around Iran was making the market uneasy, said PVM Oil Associates analyst John Evans.
US markets are closed today for Martin Luther King Jr Day.
Meanwhile, Kazakh oil producer Tengizchevroil, led by Chevron, said today that it had temporarily halted production as a precautionary measure at the Tengiz and Korolev oilfields after an issue affected power distribution systems.
