TOKYO (Reuters) – Oil slumped around 2% on Monday after news from the Suez Canal that salvage crews have managed to move the giant container ship that has been clogging up the vital global trade passage for nearly a week.
Brent oil was down $1.19, or 1.8%, at $63.38 a barrel by 0658 GMT. U.S. crude fell $1.34, or 2.2%, to $59.63 a barrel.
The stranded container ship Ever Given has been partially floated and straightened in the Canal, with further tug operations set to resume when the tide rises later on Monday.
Hundreds of other container ships, bulk carriers and oil-laden tankers remain backed up at both ends of the canal, but news of the ship’s movement immediately sent oil prices sharply lower after they had traded slightly down for the morning.
