Oil prices were little changed on Monday, but posted a 17% loss for the third quarter as fears that a widening conflict in the Middle East could curtail crude supply were overshadowed by waning global demand concerns.
Brent crude futures for November delivery, which expired on Monday, fell 21 cents to settle at $71.77 a barrel. Meanwhile, the more actively traded Brent contract for December delivery gained 27 cents to $71.81.
The global benchmark posted a 9% drop in September, its biggest monthly decline since November 2022, and after falling a third consecutive month, it slumped 17% in the third quarter, its biggest quarterly loss in a year.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures fell a cent to settle at $68.17. The U.S. benchmark tumbled 7% in September in its biggest monthly decline since October 2023, and slumped 16% in its biggest quarterly drop since the third quarter 2023.
Gold has risen over 13% so far this quarter, which would be its best since early 2020, having hit an all-time high of $2,685.42 on Thursday, fuelled by the U.S. Federal Reserve’s half-percentage-point cut and flare-ups in the Middle East.
