WTI crude falls on sign of diplomatic end to Syria woe

LONDON: West Texas Intermediate dropped a second day after reports that Syria agreed to a Russian plan to surrender its chemical weapons, easing concern of a US attack that may escalate the conflict and cut Middle Eastern exports.

Futures extended losses, declining as much as 2.1%, after Syrian state television said the country’s Prime Minister, Wael al-Halaqi, supported Russia’s disarmament initiative.

President Barack Obama said on Monday in an interview with NBC News that Russia’s proposal is a “potentially positive development,” adding that he wasn’t confident of congressional approval for military action against Syria.

The International Energy Agency said today that oil markets are sufficiently supplied without any emergency stockpile release. “It’s generally thought they will look for a diplomatic solution to this problem,” said Frank Klumpp, an analyst at Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg in Stuttgart, Germany.