Oil settles lower, near one-month high on US-Iran tensions

Brent crude futures fell 72 cents, or about 0.9%, to settle at US$84.23 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate futures fell 65 cents, or 0.8%, to close at US$78.95 a barrel.

NEW YORK: Oil prices settled about 1% lower on Thursday but remained near their highest level since mid-June as the Iran war escalated, with Tehran asking Yemen's Houthi movement to be prepared to close the Red Sea oil export route.

Brent crude futures fell 72 cents, or about 0.9%, to settle at US$84.23 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate futures fell 65 cents, or 0.8%, to close at US$78.95 a barrel. At their session highs, both contracts were up more than 1%.