Crude Oil Prices Declines as Traders Focus on Profit Taking

Oil prices fell on Tuesday as investors took profits from previous session’s rally to seven-year highs.

Brent crude futures was at $96.01 a barrel down by 0.47% while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude dropped 0.49% to $94.99 a barrel.

Both benchmarks hit their highest since September 2014 on Monday, with Brent touching $96.78 and WTI reaching $95.82.

Russia is one of the world’s largest oil and gas producers, and fears it could invade Ukraine have driven a rally in oil towards $100 per barrel, a level not seen since 2014.

“Investors scooped up profits from Monday’s rally though they were hesitant to take fresh short positions due to rising tensions in Eastern Europe,” said Hiroyuki Kikukawa, general manager of research at Nissan Securities, as reported by Reuters.

“Oil markets may see a real correction if the Iran-U.S. nuclear deal is agreed or global equities tumble further amid worries over inflation and tighter monetary policy by central banks,” he said.