BEIJING/NEW DELHI: Oil prices were down 1 percent on Monday, erasing gains from Friday as Israel-Hamas peace talks in Cairo eased fears of a wider conflict in the Middle East and US inflation data further dimmed the prospects of interest rate cuts anytime soon, according to Reuters.

Brent crude futures fell by as much as 98 cents, or 1.09 percent, to $88.52 a barrel by 9:44 a.m. Saudi time. West Texas Intermediate futures were down 83 cents, or 0.99 percent, at $83.02 a barrel.

Stepped-up efforts to mediate a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas moderated geopolitical tensions and contributed to the weak opening on Monday, IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said. A Hamas delegation will visit Cairo on Monday for peace talks, a Hamas official told Reuters.

Israel’s foreign minister said on Saturday a planned incursion into Rafah, where more than one million displaced Palestinians are sheltering, could be put off in the event of a deal that involves the release of Israeli hostages.

A White House spokesperson said Israel had agreed to listen to US concerns about the humanitarian effects of the potential invasion.

Markets are also on watch for the US Federal Reserve’s May 1 policy review.

“Also playing a part are some nerves ahead of this week’s Federal Open Market Committee meeting which is expected to come with a more hawkish tone,” Sycamore said.

US inflation rose 2.7 percent in the 12 months through March, data on Friday showed, above the Fed’s target of 2 percent. Lower inflation would have increased the likelihood of interest rate cuts, which would stimulate economic growth and oil demand.

“The sticky US inflation sparks concerns for ‘higher-for-longer’ interest rates,” leading to a stronger US dollar and putting pressure on commodity prices, independent market analyst Tina Teng said.

The dollar strengthened on the prospect of higher-for-longer interest rates. A stronger dollar makes oil more expensive for those holding other currencies.

Further weighing on the outlook for oil demand, China’s industrial profit growth slowed down in March, official data showed on Saturday, in the latest sign of frail domestic demand in the world’s second largest economy.

Cumulative profits of China’s industrial firms rose 4.3 percent to 1.5 trillion yuan ($207 billion) in the first quarter from a year earlier, compared to a 10.2 percent rise in the first two months.

But oil prices could swing higher again if US inventory data and China’s PMI index show improvements this week, Teng said.

Brent had settled up 49 cents and WTI up 28 cents on Friday on concerns about disruptions to supply from events in the Middle East.

The market brushed aside potential supply disruptions stemming from Ukranian drone strikes on the Ilsky and Slavyansk oil refineries in Russia’s Krasnodar region over the weekend. The Slavyansk refinery had to suspend some operations after the attack, a plant executive said. 

DUBAI: Saudi Arabia has detailed plans for the protection of its lands and environmental resources, the Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture said on Sunday.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Riyadh, Abdulrahman Al-Fadley said: “We have devised our plans based on the preservation of our environment and the management of our water resources. The Kingdom is also providing incentives for the private sector to become more engaged and more responsible toward the environment.”

With 40 percent of lands around the world degraded and further degrading at an alarming rate, critical action is needed as the UN Convention to Combat Desertification COP16 is set to take place in Riyadh in December.

Al-Fadley said Saudi Arabia had preserved millions of hectares of land and set up programs for cloud seeding and increasing the number of dams in the country.

“This will not only be beneficial to the Kingdom but for the whole region,” he said. “With us hosting COP16 we are hoping to give the meeting the importance it commands. We don’t want matters to go back to the status quo after COP16 ends.”

Tariq Al-Olaimy, a member of the Global Shapers Community Foundation Board at the WEF, commended King Salman for his land restoration efforts.

“When you put nature first, you are equally putting people first,” he said. “Nature is our greatest collaborator … There is no successful growth story without successful land restoration and this starts inwardly, through our religion, community, values and moral clarity.”

Ibrahim Thiaw, secretary of the UNCCD, warned of global repercussions if the world did not pay heed to environmental safekeeping.

“Entire ecosystems are being destroyed through actions and inactions,” he said. “There has been a 29 percent increase in droughts in the past few years and that is affecting 1.8 billion people around the world. For poor nations that is disastrous and carries a large death toll of animals, people and agriculture. We have to be more proactive and not just emergency-ready. We must attempt to avoid emergencies.”

Thiaw said the Panama Canal’s functionality had been reduced by 12 percent, which was causing a problem for supplies.

“Demand is increasing while resources are shrinking,” he said. “As humanity we have been looking at resources as if they are unlimited. We have not been managing them. Companies need to reset their relationship with nature and we need to focus on land restoration to keep going.”

Naoki Ishii, director of the Center for Global Commons, had similar concerns.

“We are on a collision course,” he said. “The only solution is to modify our economic system. COP16 must be transformative for all of us. We need the political momentum to implement positive changes.

“If we are able to push those efforts, economically and ideally speaking, that will be a game changer.”