Oil prices rose slightly on Monday after the strongest weekly drop in seven months. Brent quotes rose to $83.70 per barrel. North American WTI crude is trading near $79.00. This came amid growing signs that recent cease-fire talks between Israel and Hamas have not made significant progress. The media reported that the last round of negotiations ended without reaching an agreement. This happened after the Israeli strike on Rafah, which killed at least 10 people. The ongoing conflict increases expectations of geopolitical unrest in the Middle East, which may lead to a reduction in oil supplies from this region. However, further growth in oil prices is limited by the prospect of weaker demand and reduced supplies this year. These factors also contributed to the sharp decline in oil prices last week. High interest rates and inflation are expected to remain factors putting pressure on the global economy this year, which could undermine oil demand. Recent data on the growth of oil production in the United States to record levels and an increase in oil reserves have also affected oil prices, raising fears that OPEC and its allies may not extend production cuts until the end of June.
