Investing.com - Brent oil futures fell more than 1% on Monday, as geopolitical concerns in the Gaza strip eased.
On the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil for September delivery hit a session low of $107.06 a barrel, before trimming losses to last trade at $107.17 during U.S. morning hours, down 1.13%, $1.23.
Investors reassessed the geopolitical situation in the Middle East after Hamas and Israel agreed to a 24-hour humanitarian truce on Sunday.
U.S. President Barack Obama had called for a ceasefire between the two sides, but there was no indication of any comprehensive deal to end the fighting.
Meanwhile, traders awaited new developments from Ukraine, where tensions between Russia and the West over escalating violence in the eastern part of the country remained high
Elsewhere, on the New York Mercantile Exchange, U.S. crude oil for delivery in September dipped 0.79%, or 81 cents, to trade at $101.28 a barrel.
The National Association of Realtors said in a report earlier that its pending home sales index declined by a seasonally adjusted 1.1% last month, disappointing expectations for a 0.5% gain. Pending home sales in May rose by 6.1%.
Year-on-year, pending home sales fell at annualized rate of 4.5% in June, compared to expectations for a decline of 5.2%.
Market participants now were looking ahead to the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy statement due on Wednesday, amid speculation over when the central bank may start to raise interest rates.
Meanwhile, Wednesday’s preliminary estimate on second quarter economic growth and Friday’s U.S. jobs report for July were both expected to indicate that the recovery is continuing.