Crude oil price settles below $82 a barrel as weak demand outweighs Red Sea supply concerns

Houthis have targeted shipping with drones and missiles since November in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

A British government handout photo dated February 3 of an RAF Typhoon aircraft taking-off to conduct further strikes against Houthi targets.

The price of crude oil on global markets settled at below $82 a barrel, little changed from the previous trading session, as concerns about global demand caused the market to take a break after prices jumped about 6% last week on worries that Middle East tensions could cause supply problems.

The price of Brent crude fell 0.3% to $81.93 a barrel. The major forces underlying last week's rally included persistent threats to shipping in the Red Sea, Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries, and US refinery maintenance, Tamas Varga of oil broker PVM said.