Oil settles lower on peace hopes
Brent crude futures finished lower on Monday amid hopes of easing hostilities in the Middle East, but persistent attacks on key producer Saudi Arabia and maritime shipping kept investors wary and prices hovering near six-month highs. Brent finished the day down 91 cents, or 0.8 percent, at USD115.81 a barrel while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures closed down USD1.51, or 1.46 percent, at USD101.76 a barrel. Both benchmarks retreated after strong gains on Friday, when Brent settled more than USD3 higher to post a weekly gain of 6 percent, while WTI rose 2.3 percent for the week.