Oil declines as market assesses attacks on #Saudi facilities - Reuters

Oil declines as market assesses attacks on Saudi facilities - Reuters:

Oil prices declined on Tuesday, although the market remains on tenterhooks over the threat of a military response to attacks on Saudi Arabian crude oil facilities that halved the kingdom’s output and prompted a price spike not seen in decades.

Saturday’s attacks raised the prospect of a major supply shock in a market that in recent months has focused on demand concerns due to the pressure on global growth from an ongoing U.S.-China trade dispute. Saudi Arabia is the world’s top oil exporter and has been the supplier of last resort for decades.

Brent crude LCOc1 was down 15 cents, or 0.2%, at $68.87 a barrel at 0750 GMT, and West Texas Intermediate CLc1 was down 54 cents, or 0.9%, at $62.36 a barrel. Earlier, the crude benchmarks both fell by around 2%.

On Monday, the prices surged nearly 20% in intraday trading in response to the attacks, the biggest jump in almost 30 years, before closing nearly 15% higher at four-month highs.