Marginal dip in oil prices follows a weekend of violence in the Middle East

31-Jul-06

Light sweet crude for September delivery was down to US$73.04 in midmorning Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil prices fell slightly in early trading on Monday after a weekend of rising violence in the Middle East when an Israeli bomb killed at least 56 Lebanese. . Israel agreed to a 48-hour suspension of aerial activity over southern Lebanon after the bombing. More than 500 Lebanese have been killed since the fighting broke out on July 12. Three weeks of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon have been fuelling market fears of possible supply interruptions, particularly from Iran, OPEC's No. 2 supplier and a backer of Hezbollah. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has aborted her diplomatic mission as a result of these attacks.