Oil prices pulled back in volatile trading on Monday as both crude benchmarks fell after rallying more than $1 a barrel early in the session on escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran.
Brent crude oil LCOc1 fell 27 cents to trade at $72.80 a barrel by 12:43 p.m. EDT (1643 GMT) after earlier strengthening to a high of $74.50. U.S. crude CLc1 was down 43 cents at $67.83 a barrel, down from a session high of $69.31.
The latest downward jog came after the market focus returned to oversupply risk as Saudi Arabia and other large producers ramp up production ahead of the November deadline for other countries to comply with U.S. sanctions on Iranian crude sales, said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Price Futures Group in Chicago.
