U.S. crude oil falls below $71 per barrel, continuing sell-off

U.S. crude futures edged lower Wednesday to trade below $71 per barrel, after selling off steeply in the previous session on reports that Israel will not attack Iran’s oil facilities.

The U.S. benchmark tumbled more than 4% on Tuesday, after Israel told the U.S. that it will limit its retaliatory strikes to military targets in Iran, senior Biden administration officials told NBC News.

Crude oil prices have given up most of the gains made in the wake of Iran’s Oct. 1 ballistic missile attack on Israel, as fears of an oil supply disruption in the Middle East have eased.

Here are Wednesday’s energy prices:

• West Texas Intermediate November contract: $70.28 per barrel, down 30 cents, or 0.43%. Year to date, U.S. crude oil has fallen nearly 2%.
• Brent December contract: $73.94 per barrel, down 31 cents, or 0.42%. Year to date, the global benchmark has declined about 4%.
• RBOB Gasoline November contract: $2.0378 per gallon, little changed. Year to date, gasoline has decreased about 3%.
• Natural Gas November contract: $2.464 per thousand cubic feet, down 1.36%. Year to date, gas has pulled back about 2%.