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U.S. oil price drops as Middle East concerns ease

24 September 2013 23:54 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. U.S. crude price dropped Tuesday on easing fears about supplies from the oil-rich Middle East, APA reports quoting XInhua.

Iran's Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that President Hassan Rouhani had exchanged letters with U.S. President Barack Obama, confirming direct communication between the leaders of the two countries.

The U.S. oil price retreated on this possible breakthrough in the Middle East. The decreasing tensions between arch rivals of the United States and Iran, and an agreement on Syria's chemical weapons would comfort the market about the troubled region.

On the economic front, U.S. home prices rose steadily in July but at a slower pace, suggesting that the rate of increase may have peaked, according to a report released Tuesday by S&P Dow Jones Indices.

The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, a leading measure of U. S. home prices, showed increases of 1.9 percent and 1.8 percent in July for the 10- and 20-City Composites, down from June's 2.2- percent increases, said the report.

Separately, the Federal Housing Finance Agency's monthly House Price Index revealed U.S. house price appreciation continued in July, rising 1.0 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from the previous month, marking the eighteenth consecutive monthly price increase.

Moreover, the Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index for the United States stood at 79.7 in September, lower than the revised figure of 81.8 in August and market consensus.

Light, sweet crude for November delivery decreased 0.46 dollar to settle at 103.13 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for November delivery gained 0.48 dollar to close at 108.64 dollars a barrel.