With China’s promise to increase economic stimulus and growing geopolitical risk following the overthrow of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, oil prices only marginally decreased on Tuesday, retaining the most of their gains from the previous session.
At $72.01 a barrel, Brent crude futures were down 13 cents, or roughly 0.2%. At 01:51 GMT, U.S. West Texas Intermediate oil futures were down 14 cents, or 0.2%, at $68.23. On Monday, both increased more than 1%.
“Rising geopolitical tension in the Middle East following the collapse of the Syrian government has added a little risk premium to crude oil prices,” a note from ANZ Research stated.
Syria is strategically positioned even though it does not generate much oil.
