Investing.com-- Oil prices fell sharply Monday, as the weekend's Israeli strike against Iran avoided oil and nuclear facilities, making the future disruption of energy supplies less likely.
At 08:50 ET (12:50 GMT), Brent Oil Futures fell 5.9% to $71.14 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 6.3% to $67.27 a barrel.
Both contracts were close to their weakest levels since early-October.
Israel strike against Iran avoids oil, nuclear sites
Israel launched a strike against several Iranian military sites on Saturday, but avoided the country’s major oil production and nuclear facilities.
Iran downplayed the impact of the attack, but still threatened retaliation.
The Israeli attack quelled concerns over a major escalation in the long-running Middle Eastern conflict, potentially disrupting oil supplies from the crude-rich region.
This notion had buoyed crude prices over the past month, especially after Iran attacked Israel at the beginning of October.
But despite Israel showing some restraint against Iran, the broader conflict in the Middle East still continued as Israel kept up its offensive against Hamas and Hezbollah.
"Clearly, if we do see some de-escalation it would allow fundamentals once again to dictate price direction. And with a surplus market over 2025, this would mean that oil prices are likely to remain under pressure," said analysts at ING, on a note.
Economic data barrage on tap this week
Beyond the Middle East conflict, the focus this week is on a slew of key economic readings for more cues on global oil demand.
Gross domestic product data from the U.S. and the eurozone are due in the coming days, while PCE price index data - the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, and the widely-watched monthly jobs report are also due later in the week.
Purchasing managers index data from China - the world’s biggest oil importer - is due later in the week, offering up more cues on the country after it unveiled a string of major stimulus measures over the past month.
(Ambar Warrick contributed to this article.)