Oil Prices Plunge 11% After Middle East Risk Premium Reassessed

Crude oil prices sharply declined this week, shedding 11.79% as traders rapidly liquidated positions tied to Middle East tensions. After hitting a high of $117.73 earlier in the week, prices bottomed at $91.05 before stabilizing near $98.39 by Thursday. This follows last week’s surge when fears of supply disruptions drove crude above $110, but the absence of confirmed outages has shifted the market's focus away from worst-case scenarios. Profit-taking by large funds triggered a wave of selling a