Crude oil starts the week with a strong drop, losing more than 3 dollars.

Crude oil prices plummeted sharply during trading on Monday, as crude lost more than $3 in morning trading, marking its lowest level in nearly a month, in light of developments in the Middle East.

In this context, recent Israeli strikes have alleviated market fears about crude oil supplies; as the retaliatory response to Iran occurred away from the country's oil infrastructure, seemingly easing market concerns about a wider escalation in the Middle East amid ongoing conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon and tensions between Israel and Iran.

On the demand side, crude oil prices continue to be affected by fears of deteriorating U.S. demand for crude; as recent official data showed an increase in oil inventories in the United States by more than 5 million barrels, while inventories were expected to rise by only about 900,000 barrels for the week ending October 18.

This negative data has fueled concerns in energy markets about a slowdown in U.S. demand for crude oil, as the country is the largest consumer and the second-largest importer of oil in the world, leading to a decline in oil prices ultimately.

Current Crude Oil Prices

In today's trading, spot prices for Brent crude contracts fell by about $3.247 or 4.31%, trading close to $72.166 per barrel. Meanwhile, spot prices for West Texas Intermediate crude dropped by approximately 4.76%, losing $3.432 to reach $68.669.