Crude oil futures ended lower on Monday despite geopolitical tensions and the death of Iran's President and Foreign Minister in a helicopter crash. Oil prices were weighed down by concerns the Federal Reserve will likely keep interest rates higher for a longer time. A couple of Fed officials said recently that they are not yet ready to say inflation trends are again moving sustainably back to the central bank's 2% target, despite last week's data showing signs that consumer price pressures are easing.
Benchmark crude oil futures for June delivery fell $0.26 or more than 0.32% to settle at $79.8 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for July delivery dropped $0.27 or 0.32% to $83.71 per barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.