Oil prices continued to decline slightly on Monday afternoon as investors assessed news from Iran and promises by PRC authorities to stimulate demand. March futures on Brent crude oil fell by $0.09 (0.1%) to $86.57 per barrel at the ICE Futures exchange in London. Why is oil getting cheaper?

Is crude oil getting cheaper? WTI futures quotes for March fell by $0.05 per barrel to $79.63 per barrel at NYMEX by the indicated time. Brent dropped 1.1% and WTI gained 2.4% at the end of the previous week.

On Saturday evening, drones attacked a military-industrial facility in Iran’s Isfahan. The origin of the drones is unknown, but many media outlets believe Israel launched the attack. The government of the Jewish state refrained from commenting.

“It is unclear what exactly is going on in Iran, but any escalation in the region threatens the risks of supply disruption,” said Stefano Grasso, a senior portfolio manager at 8VantEdge.

The main event for the oil market this week will be the February 1 meeting of OPEC+ ministers. According to most experts, the coalition will not change production quotas after this meeting.

Also, the Chinese authorities on Saturday promised to support the restoration of fuel demand in the country, as it is the main engine of the economy and imports, notes MarketWatch. At the same time, a ban on imports of Russian petroleum products to the EU goes into effect on Feb. 5.

“We are evaluating Russian supplies on the one hand and Chinese demand on the other,” Grasso noted. – Both could fluctuate by more than 1 million barrels per day in either direction.”

Earlier we reported that the media named the consequences of the EU embargo on Russian oil products.