The battle smoke of war between Israel and Gaza’s Palestinians that began Saturday now clouds hopes for a U.S.-brokered deal that would normalize Saudi Arabia’s relations with Israel—and ease oil prices.
“It’s very hard to see the way forward with this grand bargain effort this morning,” said Helima Croft, the head of commodity strategy at RBC Capital Markets. She said the surprise attack leaves Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unlikely to make any concessions to the Palestinians that the Saudi government might be seeking.
Dampened world demand has kept prices in the $70 to $80 range this year. That level still strains consumer spending.