27.12.202319:10:00UTC+00Oil Futures Settle Sharply Lower Ahead Of Inventory Data

Oil prices fell on Wednesday, turning weak after a sharp upmove in the previous session, on reports several shipping companies have decided to schedule their container vessels to travel via the Suez Canal and Red Sea again.

Maersk and France's CMA CGM have resumed passage through the Red Sea.

Oil prices had surged higher on Tuesday on geopolitical tensions triggered by the Israel-Hamas war, the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea as well as the filling of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve by the U.S.

A weak dollar contributed as well to the uptick in oil prices on Tuesday.

West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February ended lower by $1.46 or about 1.9% at $74.11 a barrel.

Brent crude futures settled at $79.65 a barrel, down $1.42 or about 1.8% from the previous close.

The release of weekly crude inventory reports from the American Petroleum Institute (API) and U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) are delayed by a day due to Christmas holiday on Monday. The API's report is due later today, while EIA will release its inventory data Thursday morning.