Oil slumps as Suez Canal container ship starts to move

A handout picture released by the Suez Canal Authority on Monday, March 29, 2021 shows a night view of the Panama-flagged MV 'Ever Given' (operated by Taiwan-based Evergreen Marine) container ship, a 400m (1,300-foot-)long and 59-metre wide vessel, as it remains lodged sideways impeding traffic across Egypt's Suez Canal waterway. Egypt's Suez Canal Authority said on March 29 the Ever Given container ship, which has been blocking the crucial waterway for nearly a week, has been turned in the "right direction". "The position of the ship has been reorientated 80% in the right direction," SCA chief Osama Rabie said in a statement. Over 300 ships are currently waiting to travel through the canal. - AFP

TOKYO, March 29 (Reuters): Oil slumped around 2% on Monday after news from the Suez Canal that salvage crews have managed to move the giant container ship that has been clogging up the vital global trade passage for nearly a week.

Brent oil was down $1.19, or 1.8%, at US$63.38 a barrel by 0658 GMT. US crude fell $1.34, or 2.2%, to US$59.63 a barrel.