WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Oil prices fell sharply on Friday after the on-and-off truce talks reconvened in Qatar's capital on Thursday without Hamas.
Also weighing on prices, data showed China's oil refinery output declined for the fourth consecutive month in July, reflecting a slowdown in fuel demand.
Benchmark Brent crude futures fell 1.2 percent to $80.11 a barrel, while WTI crude futures were down 1.4 percent at $77.09.
Negotiators seeking a Gaza ceasefire are meeting for a second day in Qatar today, even as Israeli troops continued their assault on the Palestinian enclave.
The latest talks are aimed at averting a wider conflict in the Middle East following recent assassinations of Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas, in Tehran, and Fuad Shukr, a top Hezbollah military commander, in a Beirut suburb.
Hamas officials are not participating directly in the talks but have signaled a willingness to consider new proposals from the Israelis.
Meanwhile, Chinese refineries sharply lowered crude processing rates last month on tepid fuel demand.
Crude oil refineries in China produced 6.1 percent less fuel in July this year than a year earlier, logging the fourth consecutive monthly decline in output, Reuters reported, citing data from the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics.
Earlier this week, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) cut its forecast for global oil demand growth in 2024, citing softer expectations for China.
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