Crude slips on Syria chemical weapons deal

Crude oil prices fell in mid-September as the US and Russia announced a deal had been reached to dispose of Syria’s chemical weapons by mid-2014

Brent and WTI slid to around $109 a barrel (/b) and $106/b, respectively, on 16 September. The benchmark crudes traded at around $113/b and $109/b, respectively, the previous week. On 14 September, US Secretary of State John Kerry said an initial agreement had been reached for Syria to hand over a complete list of its chemical weapons stockpile to the United Nations. The list would be handed over by the week of 23 September. In a note released shortly after Kerry’s announcement, Deutsche Bank said that easing expectations of an imminent strike against Syria had eased some of the pressure on oil prices. Increased global oil supply from non-Opec nations, mainly the US, as well as “more muted s