Oil prices see-saw, settle down on Russian pipeline constraints, recession fear | Reuters

Oil prices see-saw, settle down on Russian pipeline constraints, recession fear | Reuters

Oil prices settled slightly lower on Tuesday after a see-saw session as worries that a slowing economy could cut demand vied with news that some oil exports had been suspended on the Russia-to-Europe Druzhba pipeline that transits Ukraine.

Crude prices have been under pressure for weeks as fears mounted that a recession could cut oil demand.

Brent crude settled at $96.31 a barrel, losing 34 cents, or 0.4%. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude settledat $90.50 a barrel, shedding 26 cents, or 0.3%. During the session, both benchmarks rose and fell by more than $1 a barrel.

Ukraine halted oil flows on the Druzhba oil pipeline to parts of central Europe because Western sanctions had prevented a payment from Moscow for transit fees from going through.

Flows along the southern route of the Druzhba pipeline have been affected while the northern route serving Poland and Germany was uninterrupted.

Oil initially moved higher on the pipeline news and expectations that the shutdown would tighten supplies, but prices reversed course as details became clearer around the cause of the disruption. read more