Oil prices are declining amid uncertainty over US involvement in Israeli-Iran conflict, stronger dollar | Today news

New Delhi: Global crude prices traded slightly lower on Thursday morning amid a stronger dollar and uncertainty about US involvement in the Israeli-Iran conflict. At 10.55 o’clock, the August contract of Brent in the Intercontinental Exchange traded at $ 76.61, 0.12% lower of its previous but higher than the low of the $ 75.78 session. Mixed signals from US President Donald Trump over the direct participation of the USA in the ongoing war in West Asia keep traders on their toes, experts said. After indicating via social media platforms on Tuesday that the US intends to join Israel in its conflict against Iran, Trump said on Wednesday that the US may not join the war. According to a Sky News report, Trump told reporters: ‘I can. I can’t do that … Nobody knows what I’m going to do … Iran has a lot of problems, and they want to negotiate. ‘ Sriram Iyer, senior research analyst at Reliance Securities, said “international crude prices began weaker in Asia on Thursday morning, as markets awaited clarity on the possible US involvement with the Israeli-Iran conflict”. Rahul Kalantri, Vice President for Commodities at Mehta Equities, said earlier profits were reversed when traders waited for the clarity whether the US would join Israel in the striking Iran. “The ongoing conflict, now on its seventh day, is still raising risks. Despite the setback, staying roughly over the peak of five months. Meanwhile, the Fed (US Federal Reserve) held rates and projected a slower growth with an increased inflation for 2025, which added a potential rear window. However, the US Federal Reserve officials left the door open to lower interest rates in the second half of the year, according to a Wall Street Journal report. The price of crude oil increased for a sixth consecutive day on Wednesday, which moved near a five-month high, because traders were concerned about possible disruption of Iran’s crude oil exports amid the escalating Israel-Iran conflict.