By Laila Kearney
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Oil prices sank in early Asian trading on Friday on the possibility of a nearing Gaza ceasefire, which could loosen global supply, at the same time a stronger U.S. dollar and faltering gasoline dampened demand sentiment.
futures fell 18 cents to $85.60 a barrel by 0011 GMT. futures shed 19 cents to $80.88 per barrel.
On Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he believed talks in Qatar could reach a Gaza ceasefire agreement, increasing the prospect of more global oil supply.
Blinken met Arab foreign ministers and Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi in Cairo as negotiators in Qatar centred on a truce of about six weeks.
In the United States, the world’s top oil consumer, gasoline product supplied, a proxy for demand, slipped below 9 million barrels for the first time in three weeks, indicating a possible slowdown in crude demand.
U.S. gasoline futures remained unchanged at $2.7227 a gallon.
Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar, which trades inversely with oil prices, strengthened after the Swiss National Bank’s surprise interest rate cut bolstered global risk sentiment, making crude more expensive to global buyers.
