Brent crude traders sniff a chance of a peace deal in Gaza

Late yesterday afternoon, the price action that played out in the oil markets was frantic and frenetic and it all started after news reports from Al Jazeera started to circulate around the markets. According to that news wire, the Israelis had agreed to a Qatari led peace plan for Gaza. This came in a tweet that sent oil prices tumbling. As reported here at the time, the price of April Brent crude slid close to $78.50 on this news. However, once that Tweet was subsequently removed the price shot back to around $80.50, as oil traders scrambled to reverse the earlier move. However, despite no confirmation of any deal later, oil price slid back again into the NYMEX settlement. April Brent crude later settled $1.85 lower, at $78.70. The price has lifted a little so far today, but clearly the Oil markets sniff the prospect of a peace deal in the offing and that has stunted any rebound so far today. So, it could be another volatile session today, depending on what news emerges from this arena ahead of the weekend. April Brent crude is currently trading at $79.10