Oil prices fall $2 on peace hopes

Oil benchmarks retreated during Tuesday trading, with Brent settling at $113.72 a barrel and US West Texas Intermediate at $99.83 by 1:44pm EDT (1744 GMT). Their respective losses were $2.09, or 1.8 per cent, and $1.93, or 1.9pc, according to Dawn.

The pullback came as markets weighed diplomatic efforts in the Middle East, while prices stayed close to a six-month high amid continued Houthi-Saudi Arabia fighting and concern over possible escalation in the US-Israeli war with Iran. Iranian Security Council chief Mohsen Rezaei met Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei on Tuesday, following discussions a day earlier with representatives of Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan. Iranian state media said Khamenei stressed protecting Iran’s interests and retaining its conditions for ending the war.